The Hunter
by BeatlesLove
Summary: Six years after the war Draco Malfoy works for the Ministry hunting down former Death Eaters, until Harry hires him for a job that seems simple enough: finding Ginny Weasley and bringing her back to the Burrow. But Ginny turns out to be a much different person than the little girl Draco knew at Hogwarts, and Draco finds himself reluctantly drawn to her.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter. I am just borrowing the characters for recreational purposes.

**CHAPTER 1**

Two cloaked figures walked with a fast pace, wand in hand, through the dark hallways of the Ministry's dungeons. The sound of their footsteps echoed on the empty walls. The black, tile floors reflected the artificial light coming from the men's wands.

"I still think this is a bloody stupid thing to do," said Ron Weasley as they reached a heavy, oak door at the end of the hallway. "You know we can find her ourselves, mate, we just need more time." Every word he uttered emanated desperation.

"I'm not more kin on this idea than you are Ron," came Harry Potter's reply. "But time is the one thing we do not have; every minute we waste is a minute she's out there, in danger."

"We can get more Aurors to help us." Ron turned to face his friend. "We don't need _him_."

"It's been four years since she disappeared and I promised your mother I would do the best I could to find Ginny." Harry sighed and knocked on the door. "_He_ is the best."

In that moment, the door opened to reveal a small, scarcely illuminated office. Three of the walls were lined with bookcases from floor to ceiling. On the right hand side of the room sat a tall, mahogany wardrobe whose twin doors were locked together with a complicated looking padlock. Positioned in the middle of the room was a neatly organized desk and behind it sat none other than the wizard who was famously known as "The Hunter." Ever since the Great War had ended three years ago he had been tasked with finding the best-hidden Death Eaters—the ones not even Aurors could find—and bring them to Azkabam. He had been doing so successfully.

"Malfoy,"

Draco took his time to look up from the manila folder he held in his hands.

"Well, if it isn't the high-and-mighty Harry Potter!" Draco straightened himself up in his chair, his tone of voice full of sarcasm and—yes—a bit of resentment; the fact that he worked for the same team as the Golden Trio now didn't mean that he had forgotten how much animosity he felt towards them and vice versa. "And his ever-loyal sidekick, of course. How are you Wease…"

"Say it and I'll break your neck, _ferret!_" interrupted Ron before Draco could finish calling him by the insulting manipulation of his last name.

"Ron! Lets just do what we came here to do, alright?" hissed Harry.

"Fine." Ron unclenched his fists and put his wand back in his right pocket.

"Malfoy," started Harry. "I…we need a favor."

Draco could tell that the last words had probably been the hardest to utter in Potter's entire lifetime. As curious as he was to know what Potter and Weasley could possibly need from him, he was even more interested in savoring this moment for as long as he could.

"A favor?" Draco gave the duo one of his famous smirks. "I don't do favors, I do jobs."

Ron's face turned crimson with repressed rage. Harry's eyes seemed to turn a darker shade of green as he narrowed them to glare at his school nemesis.

"Fine, how much?"

"What's the job?"

It looked as if Harry was literally swallowing his pride; he sighed and looked at the floor for a moment.

For the first time since the duo had walked into his office, Draco noticed how aged Potter looked. Granted, Draco had made it a point not to interact or even walk around the same areas as Potter or any of his loyal followers since he had started working for the Ministry, so he hadn't seen much of the _Boy-Who-Lived-Twice_ lately. But still, little more than two years was not enough time for Potter to look like a 50-year-old man with a terminal illness. Harry's eyes looked slightly sunk in his skull and were framed by visible bags under them. His expression was that of a man who had lost all hope and was just plain _tired_.

The subject of Draco's careful examination interrupted his thoughts by declaring: "Finding Ginny Weasley, that's the job."

"Lost your woman, have you, Potter? She finally came to her senses, then?" Draco couldn't help his reply—nor did he want to—but it seemed he had struck a nerve because both Potter and Weasley had their wands pointed at his chest before he could utter another word.

"Speak another word about my sister, I dare you!" said Ron, raising his wand to aim right between Draco's eyebrows.

"Can you find her or not, Malfoy?" came Potter's question between clenched teeth.

"Of course I can find her," Draco declared in a matter of fact tone. He had found and captured some of the most dangerous wizards out there, how hard could it be to find an angsty woman who was probably just wanting for attention? "It will cost you the job plus travel expenses."

"The money is not a problem."

Both Harry and Ron lowered their wands.

"You will need to start looking for her this same night, we can't waste time."

"Fine by me."

Draco stood up from his chair. "I'll have her back in no more than a month's time, and Potter?"

"Yes, Malfoy?"

"When I do bring her back to your smothering arms, I expect a 'Thank you, Mr. Malfoy'"

"Find her and bring her back safe, you'll get whatever the hell your egotistic mind can think of."

And with that, Harry and Ron disappeared behind the oak door, the echo of their footsteps slowly fading.

* * *

"Angela! Are you home?"

Pale, slender fingers traced the outline of a picture in which nine read-heads moved around, placing themselves in front of a famous pyramid and trying to smile their best smile. This was the only picture Ginny had taken with her the night she had silently escaped from the only world she had known.

"Angela?"

A knock on the door startled Ginny. She was able to hide the picture under her pillow right before her roommate walked in. A tall, blonde woman with a perfect tan sat on the bed, next to Ginny.

"Here you are! How come you didn't hear me calling?"

_Right_, her roommate had called her name. Except her name wasn't Ginny anymore, it was Angela.

"I'm sorry Dee, I was distracted," replied Ginny, giving her roommate, Deandra, an apologetic smile.

"I swear, it's like you live inside your head sometimes."

Ginny smiled distractedly and looked outside her small window. She couldn't see much but rows of apartment buildings but she could hear the sounds of the city: taxi cabs honking at each other, people yelling in different languages, loud music coming from the apartment next door. Even though she had grown accustomed to living there, she had to admit she found Seattle to be quite overwhelming and obnoxiously loud at times. Her life in the rainy American city was the farthest thing from the country life she had led at the Burrow. It was even noticeably different from the brief time she had spent living with Harry in his London flat. Seattle was a beautiful city, she knew, but she also knew that, no matter how beautiful, no place would ever feel like home anymore.

"Hello?"

Dee snapped her fingers inches away from Ginny's face.

"Ugh! I'm sorry again," replied Ginny. "So, how was you day?"

"The usual." Dee let herself fall back on the bed. "Guys hitting on me, plenty of tips; you working tonight?"

" Uh-uh." Ginny stood up from the bed and walked to the small closet she shared with Dee. Grabbing a white top and a pair of yellow shorts, Ginny turned to her roommate. "As a matter of fact I have to start getting ready."

"Are you making good tips lately?" asked Dee, still lounging on one of the two twin sized beds that furnished the room.

"Yeah, it's amazing how much money you can make when you get a little flirty."

"Told ya." Dee propped herself up in one elbow. "Aren't you glad I got you this job?"

"I'm even more glad you're sleeping with the boss, John has been acting like a gentleman around me lately," Ginny said.

Dee giggled. "Well he better," she said. "You know how it goes, 'if he wants to be mah lover he gotta get with my friends." Ginny stared back with a blank expression.

"Get it? The Spice Girls song?" Dee shook her head in disapproval. "Girl I swear, sometimes I wonder if you are even from this world." Ginny laughed nervously. "Anyway, I'm making mac and cheese for dinner, want some?" Ginny nodded as she walked into the small bathroom adjacent to their room.

"Thanks! You're the best Dee!"

* * *

Draco felt his feet hit the pavement. Back in solid ground again, it took him a second to regain his balance. A loud honking noise startled him, he looked over his shoulder to discern the source of the offending sound and, to his surprise, he saw some sort of machine on wheels coming straight at him. He had half a mind to stupefy the thing but he knew better than to use magic in front of muggles. Instead, Draco made use of his exceptionally rapid reflexes to dodge the murderous machine just in time. As he passed by him, the muggle operating the machine dedicated quiet an array of insults just for Draco.

"Bloody muggles and their inventions," Draco muttered under his breath as he dusted his perfectly tailored, grey suit.

"Are you okay, man?"

A man, not much older than Draco, approached him.

"You almost got run over, dude!"

"I'm alright," Draco replied; the last thing he wanted was to draw more attention to himself. "Could you perhaps direct me to a pub nearby? I could use some firewhis…ehemm liquor."

"I don't know about a pub, but there is a fancy strip club two blocks down that way." The man pointed to the north. "You can get alcohol there, for sure." Draco nodded and walked in the general direction that would lead him to a drink…or two.

It had been a week since Potter and the Weasel had come to his office, pleading for him to rescue their damsel in distress. Draco had started by personally inspecting the flat Potter shared with the Weaselette, there he had found she had only packed two bags which suggested that she had appareted to her next destination and could only take what she could carry. Next, Draco had used a complicated spell to figure out where she had apparated to and found that her destination had been a nearby, muggle train station. Draco had been stuck there for a while; nobody he talked to had seen a red-haired, freckled-face woman buy a ticket. Then Louie—a muggle police officer and a friend of Draco's—had introduced Draco to something he called 'security cameras' which recorded people walking about the station 24 hours a day. Louie had gotten Draco a search warrant to view the security tapes and that is how Draco had spotted the Weaselette getting into a train for Paris. It didn't take Draco long to figure out that Ginny had stayed with Fleur Delacour's family for a couple of days and then had borrowed money to fly to the United States. By fly Draco had assumed magical flying means like a flying car, but apparently the Weaselette really wanted to keep her traceable magic use to a minimum so she had actually taken a muggle plane to a city called Seattle.

And that is how Draco had ended up walking down a smelly street, filled with muggles, unable to openly use magic, and craving more than ever a good bottle of firewhisky.

Instead, he was entering a place called Savages; a large, dark locale where loud music played while fairly attractive girls danced wearing only their underwear—or less. Draco had been in these type of establishments before with Louie, who thoroughly enjoyed what he called 'lap dances' from the girls who worked there. Draco had always preferred a more consensual type of relationship when it came to women but he didn't mind the ambiance; he felt almost at home, accepted, like, for once, he wasn't the only one in the room who had something to hide and something to be ashamed of. Unconsciously Draco tugged at his right sleeve, as if making sure whatever was underneath stayed hidden.

* * *

_**I forgot to add this when I first posted the chapter, but here it goes: thanks for giving my story a chance! I know there are a lot of unanswered questions but I promise it will all become clear as you read further. For now please continue reading. I appreciate all reviews!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

Ginny walked down a dark street, in a straight path from her apartment to her place of work: a muggle strip club called Savages; a fitting name for the place where Ginny had met the most repulsive, ill-mannered men she could think of. But the tips as a waitress could be great, especially if one was willing to flirt a little.

When she arrived at the club, Ginny greeted the bouncer with a smile and went it. She walked to the back of the establishment without making eye contact with anyone, and then she opened an inconspicuous door that led to the employee locker room.

"Good, you're here," A tall, African American man said with a smile. He was wearing a suit and was carrying in his arms a box of liquor bottles.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be, boss," replied Ginny, returning the smile.

"You and I both know that's a lie." The man chuckled. "We are short staffed so get your booty out there ASAP, okay?" Ginny nodded.

* * *

Draco found himself a perfect spot in a hidden corner close to the bar. His eyes had finally gotten accustomed to the strobe lights and his ears had finally given up trying to catch any other sound but the electronic music blasting from the speakers. In his hand Draco held a muggle version of firewhisky while he rested comfortably in a small couch.

As he relaxed, Draco's mind drifted to the case at hand: Ginny Weasley. Draco had no doubt in his mind that he would find the girl because—lets face it—he was "The Hunter" and she was just a stupid girl who probably thrived on the drama of running away. What Draco did not understand is why she had left in the first place; could it be that living with Potter was so utterly unbearable? Maybe for a sane person like Draco, but the Weaselette had been in love with Potter since Hogwarts. Maybe she had gotten knocked up and was too embarrassed? Nah! Weasleys obviously loved contributing as much as they could to the overpopulation of the world. Maybe it would be best to just ask her when he found her.

Draco took another sip from his glass and felt the sting of the liquor sliding down his throat. He pondered over his next move. He was almost certain that Ginny was still in Seattle. However, looking for her in this city was not going to be an easy task, especially since he was going to have to severely limit his use of magic; Seattle had an almost non-existent community of wizards and when this was the case, it became easier for one witch or wizard to sense when somebody else was using magic. He did not want to mistakenly alert Ginny of his presence in the city.

A particularly attractive young woman standing at the bar interrupted Draco's train of thought. She was a server, he could tell by the outfit: white tank top—which covered nothing below her belly button—and really short yellow shorts—which hugged her buttocks perfectly. Her pale skin contrasted with her raven hair.

Draco found the woman to be quite attractive, not just because of her physique but also the way she wrinkled her nose as she took a shot of liquor, the way she laughed at something the bartender said and the way her hips had never stopped swaying to the rhythm of the music.

Quickly finishing his drink and putting down his empty glass, Draco signaled the bartender for another drink and the bartender complied, sending the young woman with the drink as Draco had planned all along.

"Here you go, sir," she said.

"Thank you."

With the little light available Draco was able to barely discern her facial features. She was as beautiful as he had predicted: green eyes framed by thick eyelashes, ruby red lips and light freckles sprinkled elegantly on her nose and cheekbones. She seemed oddly familiar, but Draco was sure he would remember if he had met her before.

"Anything else love?" she asked in a sweet, almost seductive voice as she cleared his table of the empty glass. Draco wasn't naïve enough to think she was actually interested in seducing him and he guessed she was doing what it took to get a good tip, but he decided to play along anyway.

"You could keep me company for a bit," he said.

"Oh! I would love to sweetheart but I've got other tables to…" she finally lifted her gaze to meet his. Green eyes met grey ones and for some reason the woman's eyes grew as big as pebbles. Oddly enough, she seemed…shocked.

* * *

Ginny felt her heart skip about a dozen beats. The air refused to fill her lungs. All she could do was stare at those ice-cold, grey eyes. She had seen those eyes before. In fact, she had seen that man before only he had been younger back then, his hair a little longer, his body a little less fit.

_Draco Malfoy_.

The guy who used to tease her about her freckles every occasion he got when they attended Hogwarts, the Golden Trio's nemesis, "The Hunter."

_What is he doing here?_

There was no time for Ginny to find out, she had to get out of his sight as soon as possible before he recognized her.

_Thank heavens for the wig and the different eye color,_ she thought. Her red-haired mane would have been a dead giveaway of her true identity.

As quickly as she could gather herself, Ginny finished cleaning his table and said, "I have other tables to tend to."

And she practically sprinted away from Malfoy.

* * *

**_First off: thanks to all of you who started reading my story and decided to continue, I hope this chapter met your expectations._**

**_marinka: I know it seems silly that Draco was able to find her so easily when Harry couldn't, but I promise there is an explanation for that and its coming in later chapters._**

**_Dana: sorry about the spelling mistakes, I will try to triple check before publishing in the future._**

**_Katereena: I rated the story M because I am planning on including strong language and explicit sexual scenes. _**

**_To everyone else who reviewed: thanks a bunch! It's one thing to look at a number of people who visit your stories, but reviews truly inspire me to continue writing and hurry to post new chapters. _**


	3. Chapter 3

__

**CHAPTER 3**

_Wow, what was that about?_

Draco thought as he watched the young woman practically run away from him. It couldn't have been his looks; he was a fairly good-looking guy and plenty of women had been quick to tell him so.

Disappointed with the course of the evening, Draco downed the last of his drink and exited the club.

Once outside, he realized he had no idea how to get around by muggle means and he needed to find a hotel to spend the night. His best shot was to talk to Louie through one of the 'tele-phones' and ask him for advice. Louie, Draco's most trusted friend, was not actually muggle but a squib. His mother was a witch but Louie had been raised in the muggle world.

"Excuse me," Draco approached the large man standing by the door. "Could you direct me to the nearest…umm…phone booth?"

The man gave a loud chuckle.

"A phone booth? Man! We live in the 21st century, everybody owns a cellphone now."

"Ah!" Draco said, not wanting to give away the fact that he had no bloody idea what a 'cellphone' was. "And where does one get one of those?" he asked.

"It's kindda late, but you might wanna try an electronics store that's two blocks from here."

"Right, thanks," Draco said and started walking in the direction of the store.

* * *

"I told you Angela we are short staffed, you need to finish your shift."

"But I really don't feel well John," Ginny pleaded.

"Take an aspirin…and don't call me John around here, call me boss or people will start thinking I favor you."

"Well, you are sleeping with my roommate, doesn't that count for something?"

"Not when we are short staffed," John said with finality. "Get back to work Angela."

Ginny sighed. She was scared to leave the locker rooms; she was scared that her little panic attack might have alerted Malfoy of who she really was. Nobody in the wizarding world could know she was in Seattle.

_What is Malfoy doing in Seattle of all places? Maybe he is just passing through… or maybe he has been hired to look for me. _

Her entire body shook with panic.

She needed to calm down. She needed to be rational. She only had two more hours left of her shift, all she had to do was avoid Malfoy's nearby area and she would be fine.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny opened to door and headed for the bar to resume her duties.

It was going to be the longest two hours of her life.

* * *

The process of buying a bloody stupid cellphone had been excruciating. First of all, muggle technology was incredible confusing. Muggle money was no easier. All in all it had taken Draco an hour to finally get out of the infernal store and be able to call Louie.

"Asleep," muttered a voice from the other side of the line.

"Louie, wake up! It's me Draco."

"Draco? How are you calling me?"

"By cellphone."

"You don't own a cellphone."

"I do now. Listen, I'm in muggle Seattle and…"

"Seattle? What are you doing there?"

"Remember that job I took? The Weasley girl? Well I traced her here but it's late and I need a place to sleep."

"Find a hotel mate."

Draco rolled his eyes.

"I will but I can't use too much magic here, she might be able to sense it. So I need to get to a hotel by muggle means, what do I do?"

Louie chuckled.

"Sometimes I forget how helpless you are in the muggle world," he said. "Use this cellphone to call a taxi company, when the motor car arrives get in and tell the driver to take you to the nearest hotel."

"Right, and I pay this man?"

"Yes, after he gets you to the hotel."

"Got it."

"Alright mate, good luck on your search."

"Thanks but I don't need it, I can feel I'm getting closer."

* * *

Ginny rushed to climb the stairs of her apartment building.

When she finally closed the apartment door behind her, she let out a sigh of relief. She had not seen Malfoy at the club anymore after their little encounter and she had made sure he hadn't been waiting outside for her. Hopefully Malfoy would never again set food at Savages and she could continue with the life she had created for herself. She was quite comfortable with her life; she didn't live in luxury and she had to work tons of hours to pay her share of the bills plus the classes she was taking at a local university, but she had made good friends in Seattle and the awful dreams about her family and the war had been reduced to only a couple of nights a week.

Careful not to draw attention to herself Ginny muttered a spell under her breath and her eyes changed to their natural color. She also took the black wig off and dumped it on a chair nearby.

"You're home." Dee greeted her from the couch, where she was curled up with a pint of ice cream in one hand, watching a movie.

"Yeah, I got out of there as fast as I could."

"Why?"

"Oh! Just a creepy client," Ginny lied. She sat down next to her friend and stole a spoonful of ice cream.

"Hey!" Dee protested. "Fine, but get your own spoon." Ginny giggled. "You know, tomorrow is my birthday."

"I know."

Dee had been announcing her birthday for months, Ginny could not have forgotten if she wanted to.

"We are dressing up and going out to celebrate, I already invited some of the girls at work and John of course."

Ginny tried to fake a smile. The last thing she wanted was to be out and about town when Malfoy was lurking around Seattle.

"Oh! Dee I actually have to…"

"Nothing! I already talked to John and he is giving you the day off," Dee said firmly.

"Fine, but lets just keep away from this area okay?"

"Alright, we'll go to the Skyline, it'll be so much fun!"

Ginny nodded, not so sure Dee was correct in her assessment. She had a bad, bad feeling about Malfoy being in town.

* * *

Draco bit into his breakfast toast as shuffled through the evidence he had amassed for the Weasley case: the security tapes from the London train station, a copy of the tickets Ginny had used to get to Paris and then Seattle, a photograph of Ginny graduating from Hogwarts—the most recent picture the Weasleys had of their daughter—and a letter Ginny had left for Potter the day she disappeared, which read:

_I'm sorry. I will always love you,_

_Ginny_

_She has quite a way with words,_ thought Draco and laughed at his own joke.

Taking a sip from his orange juice, Draco picked up the photograph again and inspected it: Ginny was wearing her formal robes and she was holding her Hogwarts diploma. Her smile seemed a little forced, her downcast eyes were a soft brown, her red hair was loose around her shoulders and her face was covered in light freckles.

_Hang on a second…I've seen that face…_

Draco picked up his new cell phone and dialed the only number in his contact list.

"Agent Gibson here."

"Louie I need a favor," Draco said urgently.

"What a shocker!" came the sarcastic reply.

Completely ignoring it, Draco continued, "Is there a way for you to modify a picture? Say, add stuff to it, make a person look different."

"Sure, we have a software at the station just for that, a lot of people change their looks when they are on the run."

"Excellent, do you still have the picture of Ginny Weasley I gave you in case she got in trouble with the muggle police?"

"Uh huh"

"I want you to take it and modify it: add black hair, heavy make up, change the eye color to green and make her look five years older…oh! And take some of the freckles out."

"Mate what is this about?"

"I think I found her Louie."

"Where?"

"A strip club," Draco smiled triumphantly. "A strip club of all places."

* * *

_**Hi! Here is the new chapter, I hope you enjoy it. A lot more Ginny & Draco interaction is coming next chapter so stay tuned. **_

_**Thanks to everyone who reviews, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. Also thanks to everyone who reads my story. I will be back next week with another chapter. **_


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

When Louie finally sent Draco the modified picture of Ginny it was already late in the evening. Draco had spent the day doing surveillance outside of the Savages club in case Ginny showed up for work, but so far he'd had no luck.

When Draco saw the modified picture, it confirmed his suspicions; Ginny Weasley was, in fact, a waitress at a strip club in Seattle.

_This is too good; I can't wait to see Potter's reaction,_ thought Draco with a mischievous smile on his face.

_Now all I have to do is find her._

Draco was tired of waiting; he was man of action and he was too close to finding Ginny to continue doing nothing but surveillance. With the picture of the improved Ginny in his cell phone display, Draco walked up to a young woman leaning against the club's entrance, smoking a cigarette.

"I'm not a hooker, I'm just taking a break, fuck off perv."

"I just want to ask you a question," he said.

"What kind of question?"

"Do you recognize this person?"

Draco showed her the picture of Ginny in disguise. The woman's face twisted with an expression of disgust.

"That's Angela right there," she said. "That little bitch."

"So you do know her?"

"Yeah I know her," she paused to take a drag from her cigarette. "She's a man-eating whore that one, and her roommate Deandra is worse. Always flirting with the bar-tender to get free drinks and flirting with the clients to get big tips while me and my girls are up there dancing our butts off…"

"Listen love," Draco interrupted her. "I don't care about your professional problems with this woman, I just want to know where she lives."

"You don't have to be so rude, shit!"

The woman paused; she extinguished her cigarette with her foot and then continued.

"I'll tell you where she lives if you are willing to pay for it."

Draco pulled out his wallet and handed the woman two hundred dollar bills. _Courtesy of Potter,_ he thought.

"That old apartment complex, two blocks from here."

"You have been really helpful, love."

"You too gorgeous."

* * *

"You look way too worried about something," Dee said from the bar stool next to Ginny's. "And way too sober."

Dee signaled the bartender.

Ginny, Dee and other friends were at a famous muggle bar called The Skyline, celebrating Dee's birthday.

Dee handed Ginny a shot of something, which smelled awful.

"Bottoms up," she said.

"To the birthday girl," said Ginny and downed the drink.

_Yep, tastes as good as it smells,_ she thought.

"So you're sitting alone at the bar, what gives? By this time you're usually talking a guy into buying us all drinks," Dee asked.

"I'm just…it's nothing, don't worry about it."

Ginny tried to smile. Dee was right, she was not being herself tonight but the Malfoy thing was starting to really worry her.

_What if he truly is after me? _

"Well if it's nothing then lets celebrate!"

Dee grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her to the dance floor.

"Lets bring the wild Angela out!"

The friends surrounding them all cheered. Ginny rolled her eyes and genuinely smiled.

_I might as well have fun tonight, _she thought.

* * *

"Hey gorgeous, wanna buy me a drink?"

Ginny planted herself in front of a man standing at the bar. He smiled at her and signaled the bartender.

"A drink for the lady," he said.

"Martini, dry," she said.

Ginny took a sip from her fresh martini, then she stood on her tiptoes and slowly kissed the guy in front of her. The guy just stared at her, speechless; he seemed confused and glad at the same time.

"That's my way of saying thank you."

"Well, anytime," he said.

Ginny put her lips against his ear and whispered: "If you make it a bottle, I will be even more grateful."

The man smiled, probably thinking he was going to go home with a gorgeous woman tonight. He pulled out his wallet and ordered a bottle of whatever the lady asked for. Ginny smiled seductively and took the bottle.

"Find me later," she said and walked away.

Ginny arrived at a table where her friends waited for her. She set the bottle down and they all cheered.

"And she's back," said Dee, laughing.

"I told you I could do it."

"What did you promise him?" asked John.

"Something he sure isn't getting," Ginny said.

* * *

"Alohomora," whispered Draco and the gate to access Ginny's apartment complex unlocked. He returned his wand to the hidden pocket on the inside of his jacket and entered a decaying building, which reeked of dust and human sweat.

Draco had done a couple of hours of surveillance outside of the complex but there had been no sight of Ginny coming in or out of the building. The sensible thing to do was to come back in the morning, interview the landlord and find out which one was Ginny's apartment.

Instead, Draco's insatiable curiosity and insurmountable impatience pushed him to brake into the apartment complex, where his plan was to knock on every single door until someone told him what he wanted to know…or he found himself face to face with Ginny.

As he was walking towards the first door, an automobile came to a shrieking halt right outside. Seconds later the sound of soft laughter and steps towards the complex made Draco rush to hide under the stairs. It took the person a few tries but they finally unlocked the entrance gate and literally stumbled into the building.

The woman cussed as she clumsily stood up. The entrance hall was far from well lit but Draco knew in a matter of seconds: the woman was Ginny Weasley. The mane of long, red hair gave her away for the most part, and of course her clumsy nature, which was just as characteristic of the Weasleys.

She was sporting dangerously high heels, which in her obvious state of intoxication she actually wore pretty well. Aside from the heels, she was wearing nothing more than a fitted dress, which stopped somewhere in her mid-thighs. Ginny started for the stairs that most likely led to her apartment.

_It's time_, Draco thought and sneaked behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist to stop her from running and one hand covering her mouth to stop her from screaming.

* * *

_**I know this is a short chapter and not very much goes on, I apologize for that but it was necessary for the progression of the story. I promise next chapter will make up for the lack of excitement in this one. I will try to post the next chapter this weekend or earlier. Please keep reading and reviewing! I appreciate each and every word you send me in your reviews. **_

_**Johan Kira Expelliarmus: yes, you will find why Ginny left but not anytime soon. **_


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Draco felt a sharp pain in his hand as Ginny's teeth sunk into his flesh, and then he experienced even more pain as her sharp heel connected with his groin. He had no choice but to let go of her and nurse his pain.

Ginny, free from his grasp, quickly ran upstairs. Draco followed a couple of seconds later.

Stopping on the third floor, Ginny swiftly turned around and pointed a small knife at him.

"Leave me alone! Leave me alone or I swear I'll stab you!" she screamed.

Draco was just seconds from pulling his wand out of his jacket when he noticed a change in Ginny's facial expression; she went from slightly terrified but determined, to completely horrified and confused.

"Malfoy?" she asked.

"Yes, it's me," Draco replied. He took a calm step towards the armed woman. "Now put the knife down so we can…"

"Don't you dare come any closer!" she screamed and waved her knife for reinforcement.

"Right."

Draco stopped and lifted his arms in surrender.

"I am not here to harm you, Weasley. I've just come to give you an important message from your…from Potter."

Ginny gave a sarcastic chuckle.

"No you are not. Harry wouldn't send _you_ of all people…and how did you find me anyway?"

Ginny's face became paler all of a sudden.

"Do they all know where I am?"

"No," Draco responded. Softening his tone of voice he continued, "I can answer all of your questions, but we ought to have this conversation inside, we don't want any mugg…neighbors to listen in."

"I can't trust you," Ginny said. "You are a Malfoy."

"A lot has changed since you left Weasley."

As if to make a point to himself more than Ginny, Draco tugged at his right sleeve to make sure no part of his arm was visible.

"Here," Draco said and pulled his wand out. "You can hold on to this while we talk."

Ginny gave him one last suspicious look before taking the wand from him. She slowly lowered the knife and reached into her purse to take her keys out. She opened the door to her apartment and stepped in first. She stuck her knife in her purse and dropped them both on the floor.

When Ginny turned away from Draco to carefully remove her high heels, he took the knife out of Ginny's purse. In one swift movement, Draco had Ginny pinned against the wall, the small pocketknife now slightly digging into her neck while his other hand snatched his own wand out of her hand, leaving her defenseless.

"You didn't really think I was here to have a heart-to-heart, did you?" Draco asked triumphantly.

"So why are you here Malfoy?" Ginny spat. "Why have you been following me?"

"Because Potter wants you back and he is paying me a good amount to make it happen, sweetheart."

"Does he know I'm in Seattle then? Have you told him?"

"Nope, he doesn't need to know where you've been living or what you do to pay the bills. That can be our little secret as long as you cooperate with me and we leave tonight."

Ginny's eyes widened. Once again the color drained from her face.

"Tonight?" she asked. "But, where are we going?"

"To that dump you call the Borrow of course, Potter will be waiting for you there as soon as I give him the message."

"I…" Ginny let out a sigh in surrender. She looked straight into Draco's eyes and he couldn't help but feel a certain amount of remorse for what he was doing to her.

"Fine, let me just get my things and we can go."

Normally Draco would have laughed at her request and proceeded to apparate both of them to the Borrow. That would have been simpler; the job would have been done, he would never have to lay eyes on Ginny Weasley again. But there was something in Ginny's eyes that made him want to give her whatever she needed. It was a foreign feeling for Draco and he had to back away and stop looking at her to regain his composure.

"That's fine, pack your things and then we'll go."

Draco followed Ginny into a small bedroom she clearly shared with a roommate. He sat on one of the beds while she gathered some of her things in a small bag. Draco made sure to never take his eyes of her in case she tried to run or seriously maim him again.

When Ginny was done packing, she turned to him.

"Could you undo my dress," she asked. "I don't want my parents to see me wearing this, dad would probably drop dead."

Draco cleared his throat nervously. For all her flaws—the main one being that she was a Weasley—Draco had to admit Ginny had turned out to be a very attractive woman.

Ginny turned around to give him access to the zipper of her dress and she gathered her red hair to one side, revealing her long, porcelain-like neck.

"Can you get it?" she asked again.

"Hmm hmm," Draco muttered. He pulled on the zipper, trying to look away from her semi-naked form as he did so.

"Done."

"Thanks."

Ginny turned to face Draco and gave him a quick smile before she let the dress fall to the floor.

Ginny Weasley was standing in front of Draco, wearing nothing but her lace underwear. He wanted this situation to be as funny as it might have been had it happened during their school years. But, then again, Ginny hadn't been a red-haired seductress back then, and Draco wouldn't have touched a muggle-lover with a ten-foot stick.

Now, instead of laughter, Draco felt a wave of heat rising from his underbelly and, as much as he wanted to, he could not take his eyes off of her creamy, pale skin.

"Malfoy, I know we've never really gotten along."

Ginny took a step closer to him.

"But there's no reason why we can't try now that we are all grown up."

She gave him a light smile and then straddled him.

"Is there?"

"I don't know what you are playing at Weasley, but its not going to work."

His statement would have been more credible had his hands not found their way to her waist.

"I think it just might."

Ginny pressed her soft lips against Draco's and for a moment he forgot everything: where he was, why he was there and whom he was snogging. For the first time in a long time Draco let himself go. He kissed Ginny Weasley back and drew her closer to him, fulfilling his desire to caress her soft skin.

In between kisses, Ginny spoke again: "We could…continue this…if you promise to leave tomorrow and never…never come looking for me again."

Almost as if someone had dropped a bucket of ice-cold water on him, Draco snapped out of his sensual reverie. His hands grasped her arms tightly to hold her in place.

"We are leaving, now," he said between clenched teeth.

"You're going to apparate with me in my underwear?"

"You can explain that to Potter on your own, I have a job to do."

"Harry would kill you."

"I can take Potter," Draco stated and let go of her arms. He grabbed his wand from the floor where he had dropped it.

"Get your bag, we are leaving."

Ginny reached for her bag but instead of grabbing it, she pulled her own wand from it.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

And with that Draco felt his whole body paralyzed as he fell to the ground. Unable to move a finger, he witnessed Ginny get dressed and run out of the apartment.

_Fuck! _

* * *

Ginny finally stopped to catch her breath as she reached the nightclub where she worked. By now she was completely sober and the realization of everything that had happened that night felt heavy on her conscience. In one night she had encountered a man whom Harry, Ron and Hermione considered their nemesis; she had kicked him, threatened to stab him, hexed him and she had snogged him. Worst of all: she'd liked snogging him; she'd liked the way his hands felt as he embraced her, she'd liked the way his eyes looked at her, the way his body felt under hers…

_Get a grip Ginevra! _She told herself.

Yes, she had enjoyed snogging Malfoy but only because he was a fairly attractive man and sometimes the flesh doesn't understand that fairly attractive men can also be unbearable ferrets.

_There are more important matters to ponder on_.

Ginny walked into Savages. Tonight she wasn't working, but she needed a safe place to clear her head and think about her next move before the paralyzing hex she had put on Malfoy wore off.

When she found herself alone in the locker rooms, Ginny let a sigh of relief and sat on the floor, a very strong drink in hand.

If Malfoy was telling the truth, Harry had hired him to find her and bring her back to the Borrow. Four years ago—before she had left Harry, her family and everything she knew behind—Ginny had heard rumors that Malfoy was starting to work for the Ministry of Magic as some sort of bounty hunter, in search of the most dangerous Death Eaters, who had escaped after the war. Perhaps after four years of trying to find her, Harry had decided to swallow his pride and hire Malfoy to search for her.

Now Ginny had two options: she could try to run away again or she could go back to all the people she had left behind and try to explain why she had done so. The more cowardly part of her wanted to run away, but she knew Malfoy was good at his job and he would surely find her again. Moreover, Ginny knew in her heart that she owed Harry and her family an explanation, and some peace of mind.

Deep down Ginny had always known the time would come when she would have to go back home and face the consequences of her actions. She just wished it wouldn't be so soon, but Malfoy wasn't going to give her much more time.

Ginny sighed and finished her drink.

* * *

By the time Ginny reached her apartment an hour had already passed since she had hexed Malfoy; he would soon be able to move again.

She saw him lying helpless on her bedroom floor and a small giggle escaped her. He just stared at her with eyes full of hate.

"Now, now Malfoy don't be mad," she said trying hard not to laugh. "I've come back bearing good news."

Ginny sat on the bed.

"I've decided to go with you in good faith. No more trying to seduce you, no more trying to trick you."

Ginny noticed Malfoy was starting to regain movement in his fingers and toes.

"I will go back with you, and then you can get paid and continue doing whatever it is you do."

Malfoy started to move his arms.

"But before we go back I need time: three days to settle all my affairs here, to say goodbye to my friends and pack all my things."

Finally, Malfoy was able to slowly move into a sitting position.

"What makes you think I'm going to believe you this time?" he said, reaching for his discarded wand.

"I am giving you my word."

Malfoy pointed his wand straight at her chest.

"Not good enough, sweetheart."

"How about an unbreakable vow?" Ginny proposed.

"We need a third wizard for that."

"No we don't."

Ginny slowly reached into one of her drawers and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill.

"Fred and George invented this before the war," she explained. "It works like the unbreakable vow, except we both sign this parchment instead of casting a spell."

"Fine, but we will do it my way, give me that."

Malfoy took the parchment and quill from Ginny's hands and wrote:

_For the following three days, Ginevra Weasley agrees to full-time surveillance under Draco Malfoy. After three days from today, Ginevra Weasley will willingly allow Draco Malfoy to apparate both parties to the Borrow, where she will stay until Draco Malfoy has received full payment for his job. _

Malfoy signed his name.

Ginny took the quill from him. She stared at the parchment for a few moments and then signed her name. A string of red light traced the names signed on the parchment, sealing the unbreakable vow.

In three days, Ginny will be going back to a place she used to call home.

* * *

_**This was one of my favorite chapters to write and I hope you guys enjoyed it as well. If you did, remember to leave a review, they are always appreciated beyond words. Thanks for your patience and I will see you next week with another chapter.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six **

Ginny woke up with a dry mouth and a terrible headache. Normally, she would have shrugged it off as a bad hangover but this morning she knew her headache was due to a long night of too much worrying and not enough sleep.

She wished last night had been just an awful dream, but reality slapped her in the face when she walked out of her room to find Draco Malfoy sleeping on her couch. After they had taken an unbreakable vow last night, Malfoy had insisted that part of the deal was for him to keep an eye on her at all times. He had grabbed her pillow, one of her blankets and made himself an impromptu bed on the couch.

_The infuriating ferret_, she thought as she watched him sleep peacefully.

Ginny walked to the kitchen and opened the medicine cabinet. She took a pill for her pain and them slammed the cabinet's door as hard as she could. The noise startled Malfoy awake and Ginny allowed herself a triumphant smile.

"Did you do that on purpose?" he asked.

"No."

Ginny continued going about her business in the kitchen; making herself some breakfast, cleaning, washing dishes.

"I want to take a shower, where is the bathroom?" asked Malfoy.

Ginny pointed in the direction of the bathroom and neither spoke another word.

Ginny tried really hard not to picture Malfoy showering as she herself got dressed and did her hair and makeup for the day. She was about to exit her room when Malfoy came out of the bathroom with only a towel covering his otherwise naked body. Ginny's eyes were instantly drawn to his chest, which was toned and firm and calling her to touch it…

Ginny lifted her gaze to meet Malfoy's. He had noticed her staring and was smirking like the self-satisfied arse he was.

"Is there a reason you are not dressed?" she asked, trying to sound annoyed as opposed to pleased with his state of nakedness.

"I need another towel."

Ginny was about to reply that she had no other towels and that he would have to manage with one or go to hell, when the front door opened and Dee walked into the apartment.

"Well hello there," Dee greeted Malfoy and then proceeded to give Ginny a questioning look.

"Err…this is Draco Malfoy," Ginny said. "He is…uh…an old friend of mine, from England."

The first time Ginny and Dee had met, Ginny had told her new friend that she had moved to Seattle from a small town in England, where she had spent most of her life. What Ginny had intentionally failed to mention was everything and anything about being a witch.

"Draco's come to visit me," Ginny added, trying to sound convincing.

"Draco Malfoy, huh?"

Dee extended her hand and Malfoy shook it.

"That is an unusual name."

"Oh! It's actually a pretty common name back in England," Ginny lied before Malfoy blew their cover by trying to defend his bloody family name.

"Indeed," interrupted Malfoy. "And what is _your_ name, love?"

Dee giggled, swooning already over Malfoy's charm –and quite possibly his bare chest.

"Deandra, but you can call me Dee."

"Well Dee, I am beyond pleased to meet you...Ginny has told me so much about you."

When she listened to the sound of her real name coming from Malfoy's lips, Ginny almost lost it.

"Ginny?" Dee repeated, obviously confused.

"Ginny, yes! That is what they used to call me back in England."

Ginny giggled nervously.

"It's short for Angela…which is my actual name," Ginny said giving Malfoy a sharp look.

"You are acting kindda weird this morning Angela," Dee said, pouring herself some tea.

Ginny let out another nervous giggle.

"If you'll excuse me ladies, I am going to get dressed."

Malfoy directed a wink at Dee and then returned to the bathroom.

_Thank the heavens!_ thought Ginny. Seeing Malfoy half-naked this morning reminded Ginny of the sexual tension they had shared the night before, when she had misguidedly attempted to seduce him only to find herself enjoying his kisses.

"So, what did you two do last night?" Dee asked.

"Not much, just…err…catch up…like old friends do."

"Catch up, huh?" Dee repeated and gave Ginny a knowing smile. "And by that you mean you banged him, right?"

Ginny almost choked on her freshly poured tea.

"No!" she all but screamed. "Why…why would you say that?"

"Come on Angela! They guy is a fine piece of ass and do you really think I'm gonna believe he came all the way from England just to catch up with you?"

"Well he's in Seattle on business," Ginny lied. "And he found out I was living here so he decided to stop by, that's all."

"Sure, whatever you say."

Dee took as sip from her tea and gave Ginny another knowing look.

"All I know is that he spent the night and he looked pretty comfortable walking around the apartment half-naked."

Ginny was about to vehemently deny the whole thing when the subject of their conversation came out of the bathroom, dressed in the black cashmere sweater and black slacks he was wearing the night before.

"Malf…Draco, we need to get going," Ginny said instead, desperate to get out of this situation.

"Fine."

Surprisingly enough Malfoy followed Ginny's lead.

"It was charming to meet you, Dee."

He kissed Dee's hand and she swooned one last time.

Ginny grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the apartment.

"Stop flirting with my roommate," Ginny told Malfoy between clenched teeth once they were descending the stairs of the apartment complex.

"Are you jealous?"

Ginny suddenly stopped and turned to face Malfoy. She gave him her famous deadly stare; the one she used to give her brothers whenever they crossed her.

"Hear me when I say this Malfoy: not in a million years," she said and continued walking down the stairs.

They walked in silence to Ginny's car. She got into the driver's side and waited for Malfoy to figure out how to open the door and put his seatbelt on. It was slightly amusing.

"Where are we going, then?" Malfoy said, trying to draw the attention away from his ignorance about cars.

"The bank."

* * *

Ginny and Malfoy walked into a branch of the bank where Ginny had kept whatever money she could save for the past four years.

This particular branch of the bank was located in a bleak, small building. The staff consisted of two tellers and two particularly lazy executive account managers, who sat idly at their desk all day, staring at their computer screens.

Upon entering, Malfoy scrunched up his nose in obvious disapproval.

"This is where you keep your money?"

"Yep."

"This place isn't nearly big enough," continued Malfoy. "Where is your vault? Is it underground?"

"No Malfoy, people here don't have their own personal vaults."

"So they don't keep your money in a vault? Where do they keep it then? Under a mattress?" Came Malfoy's sarcastic comment.

"Banks here don't work like Gringotts," Ginny whispered. "They…it's complicated to explain."

"Well it seems to me like you just have no idea what these people are doing with your money," said Malfoy, not trying in the least to be discrete about it. One of the tellers and some of the other customers were now plainly staring at them.

Ginny rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You are drawing attention to us with your stupid comments," she hissed. "Let me just do what I came here to do."

"Suit yourself," Malfoy said. "I'll wait outside."

Thirty minutes later, Ginny stepped outside of the bank holding an envelope with her savings in it. Contrary to what she had thought, her four years of savings had amounted to a decent amount of money and she knew just what she wanted to do with it.

"Finally," Malfoy said as a form of greeting.

"It didn't take that long."

"It would have taken a lot less had you chosen a decent bank to keep your money, one that was not run by idiots in suits…"

"This _is_ a decent bank!" Ginny screamed in frustration.

"Sure it is," Malfoy said sarcastically. "No wonder Potter is so worried about you, he knows you make poor decisions right and left…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ginny took a step closer to Malfoy, daring him with her eyes to say another offensive word.

Malfoy stared right back and smirked.

"Well your track record of poor decisions is undeniable," he started. "Leaving lover boy and the rest of the Weasley gang to move to a worse dump than the Burrow; choosing to live without magic, making poor financial decisions …oh! And lets not forget working at a strip club, probably having sex with men for money…" But before Malfoy could finish his sentence, Ginny's fist crashed against his jaw.

Ginny couldn't believe she had just punched Draco Malfoy in the face but she didn't regret it for a second; as much as her hand throbbed with pain, she still had the satisfaction of having shut him up.

"Do you really want to go down that road Malfoy? Do you really want to judge my line of work?" Ginny said, not caring anymore if people stopped to stare at them. "You of all people! You…_Death Eater."_

Ginny spoke the last words with as much contempt as she had for those vile people. All the dark memories Ginny had tried to suppress for the past four years came rushing back. She remembered Voldemort, the war, the darkness and the pain of those years…but most of all, she remembered Fred, and Dumbledore, and Tonks, and Lupin and all the people who had lost their lives to the hands of Death Eaters like Malfoy.

Malfoy grabbed Ginny's arm and pulled her to him. He stared down at her and she felt slightly terrified by all the anger she saw in his eyes.

"_Never_ call me that again," he warned.

"Why? You were quite proud of it back in the day, weren't you?"

Ginny felt like she had to fight back; she couldn't let him see he was succeeding in scaring the pants out of her.

"I was never…"

"Oh! Boo hoo! You're going to give me your sad little sob story about how your daddy _made_ you do it…"

"Shut the hell up, Weasley!" Malfoy threatened. "You don't know what you are talking about."

Ginny pulled on her arm and freed herself from Malfoy's grasp.

"One of your people killed my brother!"

"One of your people killed my mother, so I think that makes us even."

Malfoy's sudden revelation took Ginny aback. She had never bothered to find out what had happened to the Malfoy family once the war was over, but she would have never guessed that Narcissa had died, much less been killed.

A wave of emotions and memories she had thought buried had resurfaced and Ginny felt like she was suffocating. She couldn't look at Malfoy anymore; everything was so confusing and overwhelming.

"Ma'am," a passerby interrupted. "Is this man bothering you?"

Ginny shook her head.

"I have to go."

She ran to her car and drove away, trying to leave Malfoy and all the pain he brought with him behind.

* * *

_**So here is another chapter, one which I enjoyed writing a lot. Looks like some of the truth is finally coming out... Stick around for the next chapter which, unfortunately, I will take a little bit longer than a week to update but I promise it won't be too long. Hopefully you are still enjoying my ff and please continue reading and reviewing. Stay excellent.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven **

"May I come in?"

"No."

Ginny moved to close her apartment door but Draco stopped it with one arm.

"Believe me Weasley, this is the last place I want to be at."

"Then leave! Go back to England, tell them you couldn't find me."

"And ruin my reputation?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and gave up trying to keep Draco out of the apartment.

"No of course not," she said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "How dare I suggest that?"

Draco stepped into the small apartment and closed the door behind him.

"Why are you so keen on ruining my life, Malfoy?" Ginny exploded. She shoved him with all her might, and although he only moved a step backwards, she kept pushing.

"Why did you have to come here? Acting like you can tell me what to do and when to do it!"

Draco, doing everything he could to contain his own rage, grabbed Ginny's forearms, pulling her towards him to stop her aggressions.

"I came here because Potter is paying me good money to do it," Draco said, his voice full of contempt. "Don't flatter yourself thinking I give a damn about reuniting you with your 'loved ones'."

Draco let Ginny go and she backed a couple of steps, nursing her hurt arms.

"You are a job, and after I get paid I could care less what you do with your life," he finished.

Ginny stared at him in silence. Her expression was one of anger and, perhaps, a hint of disappointment.

Draco felt a sting of guilt for hurting Ginny—physically and otherwise—but he shut this feeling down before he had time to analyze it. After all, his words had been nothing but honest: Ginny Weasley _was_ just a job.

"Look," Draco continued, his tone of voice calmer than before. "We took an Unbreakable Vow so we have no choice but to stick together for the next three days until I bring you back to Potter, and then we don't have to see each other ever again."

"Right," Ginny said. Her eyes were downcast, as if the prospect of going back to Potter and her family was saddening…or perhaps it was the prospect of not seeing Draco again?

_Yeah, right, _thought Draco.

"So we might as well be civil to each other while we have no choice but to be together," continued Draco. "It would make things much easier on both of us."

Ginny sighed and lifter her gaze to meet his. She gave him a minuscule smile.

"I never thought I'd say this but you are right Malfoy," she said. "We might as well be civil to each other."

She extended her hand to him.

"Shake on it?"

Draco took her hand in his and nodded.

* * *

For the second time in less than three days Draco found himself at Savages, the club where Ginny Weasley tended tables and flirted with costumers. This time, however, Draco was there as Ginny's escort: to make sure she didn't run away from him with the excuse of going to work.

"So, the first time you were here, did you recognize me?" Ginny asked.

"Not at first," admitted Draco.

"It was the wig, huh? It fooled you."

"Yeah the wig…and the green eyes, and the fact that you don't look anything like you did at Hogwarts."

Ginny stopped to stand facing Draco. She was wearing her work attire: the tiny shorts and tank top that hugged her every curve perfectly. Draco had trouble keeping his eyes locked on hers.

"How so?" Ginny asked and Draco had the suspicion she already knew what he meant, but she wanted to make him say it.

"You grew…up."

"You mean I grew breasts," she said laughingly.

"No," Draco lied. "I meant you grew taller, and less awkward around men."

"I was not awkward around men!"

"You were around Potter."

Ginny blushed and Draco smirked.

"I remember all second year you followed him around like a puppy…everybody could tell you had a crush on him."

"I…"

"Angela you are here, great! I need you to cover tables five and six," a man interrupted, addressing Draco and Ginny from behind the bar.

"Right, I'll be there in a second John," Ginny responded. "Time to work, get yourself a drink, I'll let you know when my shift is over," she said to Draco and then took off.

Draco took a seat at the bar and watched Ginny tend to her customers, her hips swaying to the rhythm of the music, a seductive smile plastered on her face. Draco felt an irrational impulse to break the neck of one of the customers when he touched Ginny's leg to get her attention. He made a mental note to work on killing his protective instinct towards Ginny before it got him in trouble, and turned to the bartender to order a drink.

"Whiskey on the rocks, please."

"Draco! What a surprise to see you here!" screamed a woman Draco recognized as Ginny's roommate, Deandra.

"It's nice to see you again," Draco said politely.

"Have you met my boyfriend, John?" she asked and pointed to the man who had previously ordered Ginny to tend to tables five and six.

"So you are the famous Draco," said John and shook Draco's hand. "Dee has been running her mouth about you all day, she says you are Angela's friend from England."

"You could say that," replied Draco.

John chuckled.

"You tapping that?" he asked.

"John!" yelled Dee and smacked John's shoulder. "Excuse him, he has no manners," she said to Draco.

Draco, of course, had no idea what John meant by 'tapping that' or why Dee felt the need to excuse him, but he played along.

"So Draco, what are you doing at Savages?" asked Dee.

"I'm waiting for Angela to finish her shift."

"Oh! Are you two going somewhere afterwards?"

"Just my hotel room," Draco responded.

"So you two _are_ doing it!" John said triumphantly. "High five, man!"

Draco was unaware of what 'high five' meant, but John was holding his hand up in the air waiting for Draco to do something so he bumped John's palm with his and that seemed to satisfy the guy.

"We are not having sex though," Draco added. "It's like Angela said, we are just old friends."

"Right," Dee said sarcastically. "Well have fun not having sex tonight, I gotta get back to work."

"You know Angela from school right?" asked John.

"Yeah, she's a year younger but we went to school together."

"What was she like back then?"

"She was…" Draco had a policy of not thinking back on his Hogwarts days; there was too much regret. But he made an effort to remember Ginny and without noticing the words slipped out of his mouth: "She was very smart, and rebellious, and extremely brave."

"Sounds like our Angela," John said. "Want another drink?"

Draco nodded and John poured him some more whiskey.

"My man Draco, I like you so far but I feel the need to tell you this because I think of Angela as a young sister," John started. "I know you two aren't 'just friends', and if you so much as make her shed one tear I will take that pretty head of yours and brake it in half."

Draco had no trouble believing him.

"Got it," he said. "You don't have to worry about me."

John resumed his cheery disposition and poured himself a drink.

"So, how long have you and Dee been together?" Draco asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

"It's an on and off thing, you know? But a couple of months now."

Draco actually did know all about 'on and off' relationships. He had never had a steady relationship with any woman, especially not after the war had ended. Most women he had slept with either only slept with him for the thrill of hooking up with a former Death Eater, or ended the relationship before it started _because_ he was a former Death Eater.

"Dee is great man, don't get me wrong," John continued. "But she gets crazy sometimes, especially when she drinks."

Draco took as sip from his drink and tried to find Ginny with his gaze as he pretended to listen to John. When he found her, she was sitting in some guy's lap, taking his order. Draco was about to stand up and punch the guy when something John said caught his attention.

"…let me tell you a funny story, one night Dee was really drunk and I spent the night at her place, right? So she takes this old, wooden stick and starts blabbing about how she has a magic wand," John laughed. "Isn't that hilarious?"

Draco chocked on his drink. Fortunately John interpreted that as Draco laughing.

Draco's head was spinning.

_Did Dee find Ginny's wand? Does she know Ginny is a witch? …Or perhaps Dee is a witch herself. Perhaps she is a former Death Eater waiting for her chance to hurt Ginny? _

"Man, are you ok?" John interrupted Draco's thoughts.

"Yes…yes," Draco replied. "I was just thinking about how crazy that is, Dee saying she can do magic."

"I know right?" John laughed wholeheartedly again.

"Crazy," was all Draco could say.

* * *

On their way to the hotel where both Draco and Ginny would spend the next three nights, Draco thought about telling Ginny he suspected Dee to be a witch. By the time they reached the hotel room Draco decided against confessing his suspicions to Ginny; he didn't want Ginny to go running her mouth to Dee, especially if Dee was as dangerous as Draco suspected.

* * *

_**Sorry for the extended delay, but here is chapter 7. I hope you enjoy it! I revised this chapter in a hurry so I apologize for any mistakes I might have missed. Hopefully I will have the next chapter up in a week or so. **_

_**Keep reading and reviewing! It is greatly appreciated. **_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The next morning Ginny had insisted on stopping by the local university where she had been taking a few classes for the past two years. She needed to drop out of her classes and pay off what she owed for previous courses she had taken.

Ginny sat next to Malfoy in silence. They were the only two people in the administrative office.

Malfoy had been unusually quiet and docile since last night; it was as if his mind was somewhere else. Ginny felt slightly frustrated by his silence. In a way, she liked talking to Malfoy, even when they argued.

"Ms. Angela Zabini?"

Ginny stood up, but not before she noticed Malfoy's jaw drop when he heard her made-up name.

"That's me," she said.

* * *

By the time Ginny finally finished with all the paperwork at the university, Malfoy was waiting impatiently, ready to exit the building so they could talk freely.

"Zabini? You chose Zabini as your fake last name?!"

Ginny shrugged.

"I had a big crush on him at Hogwarts," she explained.

Malfoy stared at her with an astounded expression.

"What? He was a good looking bloke and he had that whole bad boy reputation going for him, which only added to his attractiveness."

Malfoy's jaw dropped again.

"I wasn't aware you found 'bad boys' attractive," Malfoy said. "Especially since you were in love with Saint Potter."

Ginny shifted uncomfortably at the mention of Harry. She didn't like to think about him or their relationship, she felt too guilty for having left him out of the blue.

"Well every girl at Hogwarts goes through a stage of crushing on Slytherin bad boys," Ginny replied, trying to keep the conversation away from her relationship with Harry. "Most of the girls in my class of course crushed on…well…you," Ginny blushed a little. "But I didn't," she added quickly.

_Liar, _Ginny thought to herself.

The truth was Ginny had indeed had a small crush on Malfoy while at Hogwarts. In addition to finding him physically attractive, she had always been drawn to his mysterious nature. The fact that he was the proverbial forbidden fruit in the Weasley garden had made Malfoy no less attractive in her eyes.

"You didn't? Are you sure?" Malfoy teased, giving her on of his obnoxiously famous smirks. "Because I was and still am a very attractive bloke."

"Ugh! Get over yourself, Malfoy," Ginny said and playfully shoved him away from her.

But she had to admit, she still found Malfoy to be a very attractive bloke indeed.

* * *

Two men in dark blue robes opened a heavy, oak door. Draco stepped out of the Magical Law Enforcement wing of the Ministry of Magic and into the main lobby. Out there, waiting for him, was a monumental crowd of screaming witches and wizards. Some of them held signs; some of them chanted a phrase that went along the lines of "Death Eaters belong in Azbakan, not making deals with the Ministry." Draco looked around, trying not to show his intimidation. As he started walking towards the floo network where he would exit the building, people started chanting even louder and began trying to reach Draco to harm him in some way. The voices became louder and louder. People pointed their fingers at Draco, called him a Death Eater and a murderer, they even laughed at him. Draco felt a suffocating sensation; he wanted to run but his legs were glued to the ground, he tried to reach for his wand but someone had stolen it, all he could do was repeat the words 'I'm sorry' over and over again.

Suddenly a loud burst of laughter startled Draco awake. With a gasp, Draco opened his eyes and felt instantly relieved to find himself in his hotel room in Seattle.

_It was just another nightmare_, he thought.

A few seconds later, Draco heard laughter again, coming from the small living room of the hotel suite. Curious about the source of such laughter, Draco exited his room and found Ginny sitting on the couch, staring at what he believed was called a 'tele-visor.'

"Couldn't sleep?" asked Ginny when she took notice of Draco.

"I could ask the same thing."

"Sometimes I have bad dreams," explained Ginny. "And I prefer not to keep sleeping."

"Oh."

Draco wondered for a moment what Ginny's bad dreams could be about.

_Potter? Her family? Her dead brother?_

"Do you wanna watch T.V. with me?" Ginny asked.

"I'm not sure," Draco responded. To be honest, he had no idea how the bloody machine worked or how to operate it.

"You have watched T.V. before, right?"

"I…"

Ginny giggled and patted the spot on the couch next to her.

"Come here," she said. "You'll find it's quite an enjoyable muggle invention."

Draco hesitated for a second, wondering if he should be staying up with Ginny, watching T.V. with her and being almost…friendly. It seemed to Draco that this was a dangerous path. It was one thing to be civil to each other; it was a whole different thing to voluntarily share activities and conversation.

"Do you always overthink stuff, Malfoy?" Ginny asked, smirking at him.

Draco had to admit her smirk had potential to be almost as powerful as his. This bothered him a little, but it also made him feel strangely comfortable.

"Fine, how does this thing work?"

Ginny gave him a wide smile and pointed at the T.V.

"Just stare at it, that's all."

Draco did as he was advised and was instantly drawn to the happenings on the screen. Watching T.V. was like staring at the portraits at Hogwarts but much more entertaining; these people had a ridiculous amount of drama going on in their lives and they had no problem airing their issues to the world.

"Like it?" Ginny asked.

"Uhh it's alright," responded Draco, not wanting to give Ginny the satisfaction of thinking she had actually impressed him in any way.

"I've got an idea to help us both sleep like babies," she said.

"What?"

"Wine."

Ginny reached into her suitcase and pulled out a bottle of cabernet. She smiled at Draco and he felt the urge to smile back.

"Weasley, I am working here," he said with very little conviction. "It is against the rules for me to be intoxicated while I am on the job…not to mention irresponsible."

Ginny giggle and poured some wine into two cups.

"Oh please! Since when do you follow the rules, Malfoy?"

Ginny handed him a glass. Draco took another look at her smile and shrugged.

"Fine, maybe just one glass," he said.

* * *

Ginny's whole body shook with laughter. She was holding a bottle of wine in her hand and Draco was holding another in his. They were both sitting on the carpeted floor of the living room, facing each other. They had been drinking wine and reliving Hogwarts memories for the past two hours.

"I refuse to believe Goyle ever had a girlfriend."

Ginny hiccupped and laughed some more. Draco could tell she was slightly inebriated and he could feel the effect of the alcohol taking a hold of his mind too.

"I wouldn't lie about that," Draco said, chuckling at the memory. "The poor bloke could barely bring himself to talk to her, he was always so nervous."

"Well what about now?" Ginny asked. "Is he married?"

Draco shifted uncomfortably and took a sip from his bottle.

"He's been in Azkaban since the war ended," Draco responded.

Had it been any other day and had he not drank so much wine, Draco would have never talked about another former Death Eater, especially not with Ginny Weasley. But tonight—maybe because of the alcohol level in his blood or maybe just because he had gotten to know Ginny better in the past few days—Draco felt like he could trust Ginny with anything,

"Oh…. I had forgotten he was…you know," Ginny said.

"Sometimes, when I'm lucky, I forget too."

"What about Crabbe, is he…?" Ginny started.

"He's dead."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"He died during the final battle at Hogwarts," Draco continued, for no reason except it felt good to final talk about that awful night. "In the room of requirement, I saw him burn alive."

"We all saw terrible things happen to all kinds of people that night."

Ginny took a long sip from her bottle of wine and Draco mirrored her. All traces of the laughter they had shared were gone, but even so Draco still felt more comfortable talking to Ginny about the worst day of their lives than talking to anyone else about his happiest memories.

"Is that why you left? Because of the things you saw that night?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, something like that."

A thick silence fell between the two of them. After a few minutes Draco was sure Ginny's silence meant she didn't want to share her story with him. Draco felt slightly disappointed.

"After the final battle I went home for a while, for Fred's funeral and to be with family," Ginny started. "We were all mourning the losses of loved ones. Harry, Hermione and the rest of us mourned together. But the time came for me to go back to Hogwarts to finish my seventh year. Harry and Ron started Auror training and Hermione started her Healer training. Mom and Dad started remodeling the Burrow, my brothers went back to work, and Fleur announced she was pregnant… I tried to be happy for all of them but I couldn't help but feel angry; everybody was moving on like nothing had happened, Harry was getting praised left and right for his heroism but nobody was talking about Fred, or Tonks, or Lupin…the people that laid their lives for our cause. By the time I graduated from Hogwarts Harry had already adopted Teddy and the kid called him 'daddy', and at Sunday brunch no one in my family ever mentioned Fred. I kept getting angrier, because everybody had moved on, everybody seemed to have forgotten that horrible night but _I_ couldn't! I didn't want to. I wanted to mourn my brother and all the people I loved for as long as I kept breathing."

Ginny sighed and took a pause.

"It's not like I didn't want to be happy, but I also didn't want to forget. I moved in with Harry and Teddy soon after graduation, and it was nice…but I still wasn't happy. I was always either moping around, or yelling at people. So one day I made the decision: I was tired of hurting people, but I didn't want to stop mourning, so I left. I didn't tell anyone why or where I was going, I just left."

Draco didn't know what to say. He would have never expected Ginny to open up to him like she had just done. He felt overwhelmed and strangely proud to be the recipient of a confession not even Potter had had the privilege to hear. Draco felt the need to comfort Ginny but couldn't think of anything remotely appropriate to say or do.

"And now here I am, laying all the crazy on Draco Malfoy of all people."

Ginny chuckled and rested her hear on a nearby pillow.

"I think I need to rest my eyes for a bit, I'm a little tired…must be all the wine…" Ginny mumbled as she slowly drifted to sleep without even realizing it.

Draco watched Ginny sleep for a few minutes, taking in the peace that radiated with her slow, steady breathing. Then, he quietly picked her up from the carpeted floor and carried her to her bed.

"Who would have thought we'd end up here?" he whispered and exited the room.

* * *

**_Finally! I'm sorry about the long wait but I've been having tests this whole week. Anyway, here is the chapter, I hope you enjoy it! We finally know what made Ginny leave! Stay tuned cause things are heating up! I should be updating within the next two weeks. Keep reading and reviewing please!_**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Ginny woke up in her hotel room wearing the same clothes she had worn the night before—minus the shoes.

The incessant pain in her head reminded her of the two bottles of wine she had downed last night. She remembered offering Malfoy a glass of wine out of pity, because she had heard him scream in his sleep. Then, that glass of wine had turned into a bottle and then another…

Maybe the wine had something to do with it, but Ginny remembered her conversation with Malfoy the night before had been oddly pleasant. Strangely enough—although Ginny was almost certain Malfoy would use last night's conversation to mock her in the future—she did not regret anything she had said or done.

Ginny was pleasantly surprised at how easy it had been for her to bare her soul to Malfoy in a way she had never done with anyone else, not even Harry.

"Weasley!" Malfoy called from the common area of their suite. "Are you ever going to get up? Today _is_ your last day to wrap up your muggle life."

"Coming!" replied Ginny. "And don't yell! My head feels like it's splitting open."

When Ginny entered the common area she noticed the small kitchenette table covered with an array of breakfast foods.

"Did you order this?" she asked.

"Yeah," Malfoy quickly looked away and added: "Don't flatter yourself, I mostly did it because _I_ am hungry."

"Right."

Ginny took a seat facing Malfoy and both devoured their breakfast in silence.

"Listen, about last night…" began Ginny, after taking one last bite from her pancakes.

"Don't worry, I won't repeat one word you said to Potter or anyone from your annoyingly extensive family," Draco interrupted.

"Well I appreciate that but…"

"My job is to bring you home, not to delve into the details of why you left."

"I know, frankly it won't make a difference if you tell them because I will, but that's not what I wanted…"

"Well it's settled then, we don't have to talk about this anymore."

"Malfoy! I'm trying to say 'thanks'."

"Oh?"

"Thanks for listening last night and for not making fun of me this morning, it was really nice of you."

"Right."

Malfoy shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with Ginny's gratitude.

"Well 'nice' is a word no one has ever used to describe me," said Malfoy.

Ginny rolled her eyes and smiled.

"You have your moments."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Draco and Ginny stepped into the latter's apartment for what Draco hoped to be the last time _ever_. Ginny had insisted on stopping by the apartment to grab the rest of her things and to say goodbye to her roommate, Deandra.

Ginny had been pacing the floor all day, trying to figure out how to tell her roommate and best friend that she was dropping everything and going back to England. Draco, however, thought the task to be quite simple: grab your things and go. He didn't think Ginny owed anyone an explanation.

"Angela! What a surprise seeing you here," Dee screamed from the couch. "Lately it's been like I don't have a roommate anymore, you are hardly ever here and you never spend the night."

"I know, we've just been busy and it's easier for me to stay with Draco."

Angela let out a girly giggle and winked at Ginny.

"Busy huh? Yeah I know how that goes."

"For the last time Dee! Draco and I are not…"

Before Ginny could finish her sentence Draco had his arm wrapped around her waist.

"Not trying to hide our relationship anymore," finished Draco.

Angela looked ecstatic when she heard the news. She shot up from the couch, a big smile plastered on her face.

"I knew there was something going on between you two!" she practically screamed.

Ginny turned to give Draco a questioning look but he ignored it.

"Yeah, we used to date when we were in school and we never really got over each other," Draco continued with his story. "That is why I came to Seattle looking for Angela, because I know she's the one."

"Aw! I could die!" said Dee, her eyes filling up with happy tears. "So romantic."

"It is?" Ginny asked.

"Well of course it is you silly woman! And why didn't you tell me this before? Why try to hide it from you best friend?"

"I… I just didn't want to jinx it," Ginny said. "I wasn't sure this was going to work out so I didn't want to tell anyone about it before I knew where it was going."

"And?" prompted Dee.

"And we realized we don't want to spend another minute apart," added Draco. "That is why Ginny is going back to England with me."

Dee's smile quickly faded and she looked at Ginny for confirmation. Draco could see how hard it was for Ginny to look into her friend's eyes and break her heart. But it had to be done.

"It's true," Ginny said. " We are moving in together and we're going to give this a chance."

"Oh."

Dee's eyes were downcast.

"I'm happy for you, I really am. I just hate losing my best friend."

"We're not losing each other," said Ginny with tears running down her pale cheeks. "I will write to you all the time and I can visit too…"

"I know you will, you're such a sweet friend." Dee extended her arms. "Come here."

Ginny and Dee embraced for a while, both women shedding tears and whispering goodbyes.

* * *

Back at the hotel, Ginny was still feeling sad and slightly guilty about having lied to her friend. She also felt frustrated with herself because she kept hurting the people she loved and she knew that tomorrow, when she returned home, she was going to have a hard time explaining her reasons for leaving without hurting Harry and her family all over again.

"Hey, I'm sure you will see Dee again," said Malfoy.

In his voice Ginny heard something she had never heard coming from him before: he sounded like he was trying to comfort her. Draco Malfoy was trying to be nice to her and make her feel better! If a few days ago someone had told Ginny this would happen, she would have laughed and deemed it impossible. But these days spent with Malfoy, Ginny had realized something: he wasn't always the big jackass everybody had made him out to be. It was as if Malfoy himself tried really hard to perpetrate his jackass image and to keep everybody at bay but sometimes—when he wasn't thinking too hard—his real persona peeked out and he acted like a decent human being.

A decent human being who Ginny happened to like a lot more than she would have expected.

Malfoy and Ginny were standing in the middle of the elevator, waiting for the 'ding!' that announced their floor. She turned to look at him and discovered that he had turned even more attractive after having spoken…or perhaps Ginny was just seeing him in a different light. Whatever it was, Ginny felt the intense urge to connect with him, to be with him in every way possible. She had already shared her deepest secrets with him, but there was still one more thing she could share.

Ginny grabbed Malfoy's neck and drew him to her in a deep, passionate kiss. She pressed her lips against his and, after a few seconds, he responded by kissing her back. She placed her hands on the side of his face and deepened the kiss.

At least for tonight Ginny wanted to go with her instincts and do what made her feel happy, because tomorrow she would have to face reality and chances were reality was going to kick her ass.

* * *

_**It's a short chapter, I know and a cruel cliffhanger, but I promise it will pay off. I will be updating within the week. Things are starting to get really intense and I am writing a little faster because I am excited for what is to come. Meanwhile please keep reading and review! **_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

_Ginny grabbed Malfoy's neck and drew him to her in a deep, passionate kiss. She pressed her lips against his and, after a few seconds, he responded by kissing her back. She placed her hands on the sides of his face and deepened the kiss._

'Ding!'

The elevator came to a stopping point and the doors slid open to reveal an empty hallway. Malfoy—as if suddenly awakened from a trance—pulled away from Ginny with a confused look on his face.

Ginny was confused too. She wanted to keep kissing Malfoy—in fact she wanted to rip his clothes off right then and there and make love to him—but she also knew that sleeping with a man who not so long ago she considered extremely dangerous as well as her personal enemy would have ramifications she could not even begin to imagine at the moment.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Malfoy, looking at her like she had just grown a third eye and a second head.

"Honestly," replied Ginny. "I'm trying _not_ to think."

"Ah!"

Malfoy's expression changed from confused to condescending.

"Is this because you have to face Potter and your family tomorrow? Are you trying to scape how you feel?"

"Ugh! Malfoy I am going to stop your lousy attempt at psychoanalyzing me," Ginny interrupted him. "We're both obviously attracted to each other and for a very limited time, for whatever reason, I am throwing myself at you…are you going to take me? Or are we going to stand here and talk about my feelings?"

Without hesitation Malfoy grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him, so close she could feel his chest rising and falling rapidly with every breath he took. His lips invaded hers, teasing her with butterfly kisses and then devouring her with hunger.

"Malfoy," said Ginny, slightly out of breath.

"Hmm?"

Malfoy moved from her lips to her neck, softly biting and kissing his way down.

"We should move this somewhere less…public."

"Right."

* * *

The few seconds it took Malfoy and Ginny to walk to their shared suite and into her room were a blur. Neither of them spoke or looked at each other, as if they were both afraid to break the spell that was pushing them to give in to their feelings.

Once they were both standing in her room, Ginny turned to face Malfoy and began to strip off her shirt. She loved the way Malfoy stared at her; like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever set eyes on. His gaze followed her as she removed every piece of clothing, except for her lace underwear.

Unable to contain himself anymore, Malfoy pulled her towards him with a firm grip. He pinned her against the nearest wall and they kissed as if their lives depended on it. Ginny wrapped her legs around Malfoy's waist, letting him carry her to the bed.

Ginny's fingers fumbled with every button of Malfoy's shirt until it finally ended up on the floor, next to the pool of her own discarded clothes. She could barely believe this was her: the woman shamelessly laying in bed, almost naked and Draco Malfoy on top of her, kissing her senseless while her hands explored his bare chest.

With a swift movement, Ginny exchanged places with Malfoy so that she was on top of him, straddling his hips. She allowed her lips to travel down Malfoy's neck; tracing hot kisses all the way down to his chest, feeling intoxicated by his scent. Malfoy let out a moan when she reached his belt and started undoing it. His head fell back against the pillow.

Having gotten rid of Malfoy's pants and underwear, Ginny removed her own remaining clothes and returned to explore his body.

Malfoy held her close to his body as they kissed. He moved to lie on top of her and Ginny felt a rush of uncontrollable pleasure when he caressed the sensitive tips of her breasts.

Ginny broke the intense kissing for just a moment; she wanted to look into Malfoy's eyes and find that she was not the only one losing complete control of herself to a physical state of excitement beyond any other. But as Ginny caught sight of Malfoy's expression, and he locked his eyes with hers, all doubts and conscious thoughts went straight down the drain. His cheeks were a little blushed, his lips slightly parted, his eyes full of desire, and Ginny knew that she wouldn't want to be doing anything else at that moment.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Malfoy whispered, supporting himself on his elbows so as not to crush her.

Ginny nodded, "Yes."

Malfoy flashed a smile and proceeded to kiss her abdomen lightly, moving down and not stopping until he reached Ginny's thighs. He kissed the inside of her legs, intently brushing his lips against her sensitive mound from time to time.

"Draco," moaned Giny, her desire evident in her voice.

Malfoy's lips moved to ravish hers again and Ginny circled his waist with her legs, small hands caressing his back.

Ginny felt a wave of heat rise from her belly and spread to excite every nerve in her body when she lifted her hips to meet his, and Malfoy pushed forward, finally fulfilling their mutual desire.

* * *

"Wow! That was…" Draco started.

"Yeah."

"Who knew."

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?"

Ginny propped herself in one elbow to face Draco. They were lying side by side on her bed, nothing covering their naked bodies but a thin sheet. Strangely enough, Draco felt completely comfortable talking to a half-naked Ginny, with whom he'd just had what could easily be the best sex of his life.

"Who knew little Ginny Weasley would end up here."

"Here?"

"In bed…with me."

"Ah! Yes, the obnoxious ferret…Ron would have a stroke if he ever found out."

"Hmmm tempting."

Ginny slapped his chest playfully. Draco smirked.

"Don't you dare breathe a word of this to Ron…or anyone else for that matter," she said, pointing a menacing finger at him.

"Wouldn't dream of it, princess."

"I am serious Malfoy! My brothers would kill you…and then they would kill me!"

"I'm not scared of the Weasleys."

Before he could think about what he was doing, Draco moved his right arm to tuck a rebellious strand of red hair behind Ginny's ear. It was a sweet, intimate gesture that was completely out of character for him, but Ginny didn't seem to mind it.

Suddenly Ginny seemed to notice something on Draco's arm.

"Is that…?"

Draco's cheerful disposition completely changed when he noticed Ginny was looking straight at the tattoo-like scar in his inner forearm.

"Yes," he said, quickly moving his arm out of her sight.

Draco expected her to be repulsed by him, like so many other people had been when they caught saw his Dark Mark. But Ginny surprised him by gently taking a hold of his arm and softly tracing the outline of the Dark Mark with her fingers.

"Did it hurt?" she asked.

_Did it hurt?_

Out of all the things she could say to him at that moment, she was concerned with whether he had been in pain when he got the mark that made him an ally to the worst evil the world had ever known?!

Draco had been ready to deal with her storming out of the room after being reminded of what he used to be. He had been ready for her to yell at him and call him a murderer again.

But she was being _kind_ to him! And, for some reason, that was even more disconcerting to Draco than any other reaction.

"I'm going to sleep," said Draco, getting up from her bed and putting his underwear on. "Be ready to leave tomorrow morning."

* * *

Draco stood in the small kitchenette of the hotel suite he shared with Ginny, feeling like an idiot. These past couple days he had let his guard down too much around Ginny, but tonight he had completely screwed up: not only had he slept with a woman who was only supposed to be a simple job for him, but he had also let himself forget who he was and especially who _she _was.

Draco had always been careful not to let anyone see—much less touch—his Dark Mark. Even when he'd had sex with other women, he was careful to never take his shirt off. But there was something about Ginny that made him lose his mind, let his guard down…she made him _vulnerable_, and Draco wasn't sure he liked that.

"What was _that_ about?"

Draco noticed Ginny standing in front of him, her hands resting on her hips.

"Huh?"

"You running out on me like that."

"I didn't run," said Draco. "I'm…tired."

"I'm not stupid Malfoy, the second I pointed out your Dark Mark you freaked out and practically ran out of the room."

"Can't we just leave this be? After tomorrow we're probably never seeing each other again anyway."

"No!" Ginny took a step towards him "I am not letting this go. I told you something I had never told anyone before, I talked to you about _my_ feelings so now it's time for you to reciprocate."

Draco rolled his eyes but Ginny stood firmly in front of him, committed to her quest for the truth.

"So," she prompted. "What is it? Are you ashamed of it?"

"No," replied Draco. "I am not ashamed of it. It just represents a part of my past I'd rather not discuss with anybody, I'm not particularly proud of it."

" Hey," Ginny gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "You can't beat yourself up about the past your whole life, after all: you were just a kid and your dad pushed you…"

"Stop!"

Draco pushed Ginny's hand aside.

"Stop trying to justify what I did. This is why I hate talking about the past: either people hate me for what I did or they try to justify my actions. The truth is: I was old enough to know right from wrong, we all were. And _I_ chose to side with Voldermot. I could have run away, I could have fought against the dark side like you did but I _chose_ the easy way. I was selfish and I chose to fight with the people I thought were going to win. I never cared about magical purity and all that bloody nonsense; I just cared about being on the winning side. And I got what I deserved."

Ginny stood silent for a moment, staring at Draco as if he had suddenly turned into a different person.

"Wow! I never knew that's how you felt."

"Yeah well most people don't bother to ask me."

Ginny leaned on the counter next to Draco.

"I don't think the mistakes we've made should define who we are today," said Ginny. "For what it's worth, despite our past differences I think you are decent guy…when you're not being an obnoxious ferret."

Draco couldn't help but smile.

_How does she manage to make me feel like an decent human being when I'm around her?_

"When will you people let go of the 'ferret' thing?"

Ginny laughed.

"Not any time soon."

* * *

_**oviolet:**_The question of whether Draco reciprocates Ginny's feeling will come up in the near future, thanks for bringing it up! :D **_Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It might take me a little longer than usual to post the next one because I've been sick and I have gotten behind on my writing. But I thought at least I'd leave you with a nice chapter. Please review! And thanks for reading. _**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Draco scribbled 'To: Potter' put down his quill and rolled the parchment in front of him. He attached the parchment to the leg of an owl that patiently waited on his shoulder.

"At least someone is getting good news today."

The owl took a treat from Draco's hand and took flight.

* * *

After nervously pacing around the room for half an hour—pretending to be making sure she didn't forget anything—Ginny finally zippered up her suitcase and exited her room.

Her whole being screamed for her to convince Malfoy to stay in Seattle and never make her go back to England. Ginny wasn't sure if it was because she didn't want to face Harry and her family, or because she wanted to have the opportunity to be with Malfoy; an opportunity she could never have once they went back.

"Are you ready?" asked Malfoy from the couch next to the window.

Ginny simply nodded; she wasn't convinced she could utter words when she was so nervous.

Malfoy grabbed his own luggage and extended a hand to her.

"Let's get on with it then."

Ginny took his hand and he drew her closer to him, holding her in a thigh embrace.

"I want to make sure you won't get spliced in the process," he explained and Ginny could see his pale cheeks slightly blushing.

Whatever Malfoy's reason for holding her was, Ginny couldn't complain. She wanted to be able to say goodbye to him, to let him know how much she was going to miss him, but she knew at that moment words weren't good enough. She circled his waist with her arms and rested her head on his chest.

Malfoy sighed and the next thing Ginny saw was her childhood home a few feet away from her.

Ginny let go of Malfoy and stared at the Burrow. She could tell her mom and dad had done a lot of renovations to the place, most noticeably: the structure was no longer crooked.

"They are waiting for you inside," came Malfoy's voice from behind her.

Ginny grabbed her suitcase and walked towards the house. Her legs felt heavy, as if trying to stop her from moving.

* * *

Draco watched Ginny walk slowly in front of him. Her knuckles were white from gripping the handle of her suitcase too hard.

With every step Ginny took, Draco felt his stomach sink lower, a feeling of loss he had only experienced once before with the death of his mother.

_This is it, the second she walks through that door she will be out of my life forever,_ was all Draco could think.

The small door that connected the Weasley's backyard with their living room opened with a loud 'bang!' and Mrs. Weasley ran out—apron on, tears running down her cheeks—to embrace her daughter.

"Oh! Oh Ginny how I've worried about you!" she practically screamed.

Ginny seemed to be perfectly comfortable in her mother's smothering embrace. She gave her mother a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

"Do come in, do come in! I baked your favorite cookies and dinner should be ready soon…"

"Molly, you're overwhelming her."

Mr. Weasley stood calmly by the door, his hands buried in his pockets. Had it not been for the single tear running down his cheek he would have been the perfect example of a peaceful demeanor.

Ginny broke away from her mother and turned to her father. Her face—already stained with runny make up and tears—lit up when she saw him.

"Daddy," she whispered and hugged her father with the same adoration a small child does.

"Oh daddy I'm so sorry!" she said between sobs.

"Oh! And thank you young man! Thank you for bringing her back!"

Before Draco could do anything about it, Mrs. Weasley had him in a tight embrace, her tears drenching his shirt.

"Young man, would you like to come in? I believe Harry needs to speak with you," Mr. Weasley addressed Draco for the first time.

"I can speak to him another time, this is a very private moment for your family."

Truth was, Draco would have rather been kissed by a dementor than seeing Potter and Ginny resume their romance.

"Nonsense! You brought my daughter back to us, the least I can do is offer you some cookies while you wait for Harry," said Mrs. Weasley and practically pushed him through the door.

* * *

Inside, Ginny was already greeting her family and Hermione Granger—who, Draco noticed, was noticeably pregnant. People were crying and laughing and talking loudly. Draco wanted to run away, but Mrs. Weasley was blocking the door.

A few second later, silence fell over the room and Draco noticed Ginny's gaze travel to where Potter was now standing.

"Harry," Ginny whispered.

"Ginny," was Potter's dry response.

No one said a word for a few agonizing, awkward seconds. Ginny and Potter stared at each other, both looking incredibly uncomfortable and slightly scared.

"I'm glad to see you are doing well," said Potter. Then he turned to look at Draco. "Malfoy, Percy will make sure you get your gold if you will kindly talk to him, I have to get going."

Draco nodded, just as confused as everybody in the room. He turned to look at Ginny and he saw a single tear rolling down her cheek.

Just the sight of that single tear made Draco want to run after Potter, beat him up, and then force him to come back and apologize to Ginny, who was clearly still in love with him for reasons Draco would never understand. But before Draco could make up his mind to do so, Ron Weasley broke the silence once again.

"So, Gin, I'm glad to see you and all but where in Merlin's name have you been?!"

And with that the loud blabbering started all over again. People talking left and right, not really listening to each other.

"I was in Seattle, in America," explained Ginny.

"What?"

"How did you get there?"

"What were you doing?"

"Seattle, isn't that a place with barely any magic?"

"Look guys!" Ginny raised her voice to be heard. "I'm sorry I made all of you worry about me. I never meant to hurt anyone by leaving but I_ had_ to leave or Merlin knows I would have ended in the loony bin."

Mrs. Weasley held her daughter's hand.

"How do you mean sweetheart?"

"After the war I was devastated by all the death and suffering. I thought if I gave it time I would get over the sadness and move on, like you all did. But that didn't happen and on top of being sad I was starting to get angry with all of you for not feeling the same way I did. So I figured the best thing I could do was leave and deal with my problems, I _needed_ to be on my own."

"I can understand that, Gin," said Mr. Weasley. "But why all the hiding? Why couldn't you have told us where you were going? Why go through all the trouble to hide your trace?"

"All the trouble? I didn't go through much trouble dad, I just used muggle means to travel because using magic was making me sick, I needed the change."

"That's not true," said a tall man Draco recognized as Percy. "Gin, from the moment you left Harry, Ron and I started looking for you. But every time we came close to finding out a piece of information that would lead us to you we were met by incredibly powerful concealing magic, even people in the Ministry couldn't crack those spells."

"I didn't do any of that," Ginny replied, truly confused. "I even thought it was strange that two years went by before anyone found me."

"Malfoy, tell her about the concealing spells," said Percy. "And how did _you _crack them, by the way?"

"I didn't encounter any concealing spells."

"Liar!" yelled Ron. "Both of you are lying! Why are you siding with him Ginny?"

"Ron stop it!"

Hermione stood up from the couch. She placed a calming hand over her protruding belly and spoke firmly.

"_I_ casted those spells."

"What?!"

"Hermione how could you?!"

"It's probably the pregnancy, makes people do silly stuff…"

"All of you shut up!" Draco yelled. Everyone turned to look at him as if he had just murdered someone. "Oh get over it! Granger, did you hire Deandra Stewart? Because if she is not one of your people, then she is a potential threat…"

"Yes, I hired Dee to make sure Ginny was doing fine."

"Dee is a witch?!" said Ginny. "_You_ hired Dee to keep tabs on me?"

Ginny looked hurt. Hermione place a kind hand over her sister in law's shoulder.

"Gin, I know you are more than capable of taking care of yourself but I was taking a big risk by helping you stay hidden, I needed to make sure you were ok at all times so I hired Dee to keep you company and guide you through the muggle world."

"I think we are missing a really important point here," interrupted Ron. "Why did my wife lie to us and let us worry to death about Ginny?! Why couldn't you at least tell us where she was?"

All the red-headed Weasleys nodded in agreement.

"Because, Ronald!" Hermione glared at her husband and then she turned her deadly stare to the rest of the family. "You are the most loving, warm, kind people I know," she said. "But you can also be the most nosy, smothering mob. I knew Ginny needed to be on her own, I saw her suffering every day, trying to keep a happy façade for all of you. So when I decided to help her get away, I wanted to make sure none of you people could get to her, because the last thing she needed was a Weasley intervention! She needed some peace and she was never going to get any if she had the Weasley clan hovering over her."

Nobody said a word, but Draco could see Bill and George nodding in agreement.

Draco would have done the same but his attention had shifted from the conversation to a slight pain in his right arm. He slid the sleeve of his shirt up to reveal his Dark Mark, which was turning a blood-red color.

_This isn't good, _he thought.

"…so I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lie to you but I had to make sure no one knew where Gin was…"

The pain in Draco's arm started to increase at a rapid level. Soon enough, the pain was so intense he felt as if someone was carving the Dark Mark in his skin with a sharp knife. A few seconds later, the mark started bleeding copiously.

The pain was too much. Draco could barely think, his vision was starting to blur, and the last thing he heard before falling to the ground was a loud scream, which he later realized was his own.

"What..? Draco! Oh no! Draco what's wrong?"

He recognized Ginny's voice and heard her steps running toward him. He felt her kneel next to him and touch his face. He wanted to open his eyes, to look at her one last time, but he didn't have the strength to do so.

He heard another person kneeling next to him.

"Hermione, what's wrong with him?!"

Granger's hand inspected his arm. Draco screamed in agony.

"He's losing a lot of blood, we need to get him to St. Mungos."

"The Dark Mark is bleeding, what does that mean?"

"He had it coming, bloody Death Eater…"

"Oh! Ronald don't say such things…"

"Ginny let go of him, I have to apparate him to St. Mungos."

"Right. I'll meet you there."

"Why do you even care Gin? It's Malfoy."

"Everyone, out of my way."

And then the world went dark and Draco welcomed the feeling of nothingness.

* * *

_**Finally! I hoped you liked this chapter as much as I did, this is one of my favorites. I hope this chapter explains a lot of the questions you guys might be having...and also opens up new ones. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think. I will be updating as soon as possible. **_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Ginny felt as if she was living in an alternate reality. Now that she found herself sitting in Hermione's office at St. Mungos she realized how much she had missed out on her friend's life for the past two years. A lot had changed: Hermione and Ron had gotten married, she had been promoted to Head of Trauma at St. Mungos and was now six months pregnant.

"So, Mione, I wanted to apologize for missing your wedding, and the day you found out you were pregnant, and all those special moments I should have been here to share with you," Ginny said taking Hermione's hand in hers. "I realize now how much I wish I had been here."

"I have to admit I did miss my best friend and I wish you had been here too, but I know you needed to be away from us."

Hermione gave Ginny's hand a light squeeze.

"Which reminds me, I also meant to say 'thank you' for helping me stay hidden from the world for as long as you did."

"I wasn't easy, but I knew you'd come back when you were ready…when I heard Harry and Ron had hired Malfoy to go looking for you I realized that was the perfect moment to let things unfold and give you a chance to choose to come back if that was what you wanted to do."

"I didn't think I'd hear myself say this but I _am_ terribly glad to be back," said Ginny. "I do have a lot of apologizing to do…especially to Harry, he didn't even want to talk to me today."

Hermione gave her a concerned look.

"You have to give him time Gin," she said. "He was devastated when you left, and he spent a lot of time and energy blaming himself and trying to find you. Why don't you try talking to him in the next few days, once things have settled down?"

"I will."

"Are you sure you don't want to go home Gin? It's almost midnight and you've had a long day."

Ginny took another sip from the cup of coffee in front of her.

"I'm fine, I'll go home once he wakes up."

Hermione gave Ginny an inquisitorial look.

"What? I just want to make sure he is alright."

"Why?"

Ginny cleared her throat and took another sip from her coffee.

"Malfoy gave me the push I needed to return home, I at least owe him the decency to…"

"You don't owe him anything, Gin," Hermione interrupted her. "He was doing his job by bringing you back, and _believe me_ he is going to be handsomely rewarded for it."

Hermione had been one of Ginny's best friends and confidantes since Hogwarts and Ginny still considered her to be so, but after being apart for two years Ginny wasn't feeling comfortable enough to confide in Hermione the feelings she had started to develop for Malfoy.

"I know," said Ginny. "Look, don't tell Ron about this, but I got to spend a few days with Malfoy before coming back and I got to know him a little better…he is not a bad person Hermione."

Hermione stood up from her chair and leaned across the desk, the way McGonagall used to do when she was questioning a student.

"How well did you get to know him? Did that ferret try anything?"

Ginny felt herself blushing.

"No!" Ginny lied. "We just talked, you know? Mostly about me, but he is a good listener and he is not always the obnoxious ferret he tries so hard to portray all the time…deep down there is more to him than meets the eye, that's all I'm saying."

"Huh."

Hermione returned to her desk chair.

"If you say so, Gin. I have to admit since Malfoy agreed to help the Ministry catch former Death Eaters I started toying with the idea that he might have changed for the better…of course Harry and Ron don't think so, they say he only made that deal with the Ministry to get out of spending the rest of his life in Azaban."

"So that's how Malfoy got the job as a Hunter? He cut a deal with the Ministry?"

"Yes, for some reason the Ministry decided to go soft on him and allow him to make a choice: work with the Ministry and catch the rest of the bad guys or go to Azkaban."

"I hear he is the best."

"As much as it annoys Harry and Ron, he truly is. He has brought more Death Eaters to justice than any other Hunter, hence the nickname: _The_ Hunter."

"Right."

"Anyway, Gin, you know I love that you always try to give people the benefit of the doubt… but just be careful with Malfoy, alright?"

"You got it," said Ginny.

But deep inside, she knew it was too late. She had already stopped being careful with Malfoy and was now on a slippery slope, falling for one of the most hated wizards in England.

At that moment, a nurse popped her head in Hermione's office and announced: "Healer Weasley, Mr. Malfoy is awake."

"Why don't you go ahead Gin, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Alright."

* * *

Ginny entered a brightly lit hospital room. The walls and floor, as well as every piece of furniture in the room, were perfectly white.

Malfoy was lying in a single bed, which floated in the center of the room. Next to him, hanging on the wall, was the portrait of a nurse who was currently returning to take her place within the frame in case the patient needed anything.

Ginny approached the man who, in the past few days, had gotten to know her better than most of her friends and family. Before she realized what she was doing, her hand had taken a hold of his.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

Malfoy opened his eyes and their deep, grey color startled Ginny. She had never taken such notice of Malfoy's intense, beautiful eyes.

He took in the sight of her hand holding his but did not make an attempt to break the contact.

"Yes, much better," Malfoy responded with a raspy voice.

"Do you need anything? Water?"

Malfoy nodded. Ginny poured him a glass of water and, placing her hand behind his head for support, helped him take a few sips.

"Thank you."

"Does it still hurt?" Ginny asked, looking intently at Malfoy's right forearm, which was covered in a slightly bloody bandage.

"Nah," said Malfoy, never taking his eyes off of her. "Granger did a good job stopping the bleeding and then she gave me a potion for the pain."

"Wow."

Ginny grinned.

"What?" asked Malfoy.

"Is Draco Malfoy actually complimenting Hermione Granger?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes but grinned, obviously amused.

"As the Head of Trauma the least she can do is know how to patch up a wound and take care of minor pain…if anything I just said she is average at her job."

"Minor pain?! Draco you passed out! And you were bleeding so much I was worried you were gonna…"

"You were worried about me?" asked Malfoy.

"Of course I was," whispered Ginny.

She looked up to meet Malfoy's gaze. They stared at each other and Ginny felt an invisible force push her towards him, clearing her mind of every thought except the one telling her to kiss Malfoy until her thirst for him was finally satisfied.

"Malfoy I've got the results…oh."

Ginny let go of Malfoy's hand and turned abruptly to find Hermione standing in the doorway of the room. Ginny blushed crimson red and gave her friend a concerned look.

Hermione cleared her throat and continued with a professional tone.

"…I've got you results for the tests we ran, the bleeding was caused by a complex spell no one here has ever seen before. There is a very real possibility we are talking about dark magic here."

Malfoy sat up on his bed.

"Dark magic?"

"Yes, do you have any idea of who might have the kind of dark magic knowledge to do this to you?"

Malfoy shook his head no.

"But I will find out," he said. "When can I leave?"

"Tomorrow morning, we want to keep you here overnight to make sure the bleeding does not resume."

"Right."

Ginny noticed Malfoy looked concerned. She wanted to comfort him, to tell him everything was going to be fine, that she believed in him and wanted to help him find whoever had done this to him. But even if Hermione hadn't been standing right there with them, Ginny was not sure she would do all those things because she still had no idea how Malfoy felt about her, if he even so much as reciprocated her feelings.

"Well, I'm taking off," said Ginny. "Glad to see you're ok Malfoy."

As Ginny walked by Hermione, her friend whispered: "Be careful, _please_."

* * *

_**SURPRISE! The great response I had for the last chapter inspired me to write and I was able to publish this new chapter today. I hope you enjoy it and I hope it answers some of the questions you guys had about Draco's dark mark. Especial thanks to those who reviewed, you guys inspired me!**_

_**Johan Kira Expelliarmus: Yes, Voldemort is dead in this story. **_

_**Nutmeg44: Thanks! I am glad the Weasleys seemed in character, I personally dislike when fanfictions stray too much from what the characters in the book are really like. **_

_**Katereena: Aw! Maybe the upcoming chapter will make you change your mind about Harry. **_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen **

Ginny walked the familiar hallway that led to the flat she had once shared with Harry in London. She stopped in front of a bright red door with the number 37 next to it and knocked.

"Just a minute! …Teddy I'm serious it is time for bed."

Ginny heard Harry's voice on the other side of the door, then she heard his footsteps approaching, the 'clink' and 'clank' of locks being unlocked and finally Harry stood facing her, wearing a surprised expression.

"Gin," he said. "I…I wasn't expecting you."

"I don't blame you, _I _wasn't even sure I had the courage to come here."

Harry moved to make way for Ginny to enter the flat.

Ginny noticed the furnishings and decorations of the flat had changed substantially—for starters, there was more furniture in the living area than the single couch and the table with two chairs that used to populate it when Ginny lived there. The decorations in the living room, as well as the kitchen and dining room, had almost a feminine touch to them.

"I like what you've done with the place," Ginny said.

"Well I had some help…"

"Daddy I'm ready."

Teddy exited the bathroom and approached them. Ginny was instantly struck by how much the little boy looked like Remus, except for the eyes: his eyes were a mirror image of Tonks'.

"Ted, you probably don't remember but this is…your aunt Ginny, she is uncle Ron's sister."

Teddy looked up at her with hazel eyes that quickly turned into bright blue.

"You're pretty," he said.

"Thanks."

Ginny kneeled to be at Teddy's level.

"You know? I knew you when you were just a tiny little baby but now you are all grown up! How old are you?"

"I'm four," Teddy said, proudly displaying ten fingers.

Harry laughed and patted Teddy's head.

"That's ten fingers, son…this is four."

Harry arranged Teddy's fingers to show the child's true age.

Ginny smiled at the two of them. She had always known Harry would make a great father, but seeing him in action always made her incredibly proud of him.

"Let's tuck you in, shall we Teddy?" said Harry.

"But I wan'a play with aunt Ginny."

Teddy wrapped his little hand around Ginny's and she remembered how much she had missed the little boy.

"Maybe another day, son, it's time for bed…Gin do you mind waiting?"

Ginny shook her head, trying to hold back tears of sadness because of all the things she had missed out on for the past two years.

After Harry disappeared behind the door that led to Teddy's room, Ginny had an opportunity to walk around the flat. She glanced out the wide windows and saw the London skyline. The view from this flat had been the main reason she and Harry had decided to move in.

"You always loved the view from those windows."

Harry walked up to stand next to Ginny.

"It's a great view," she said, not daring to look at him and let him discover the tears running down her cheeks.

Both of them stood silent for a few minutes, looking out the window.

"Gin, I'm not mad at you."

Ginny shook her head and turned to face Harry, no longer caring if he noticed her tears.

"Don't lie."

Harry quickly wrapped his arms around her and she softly rested her head on his shoulder. There was nothing passionate, or remotely sexual, about their embrace. Ginny recognized how the love she'd had for Harry had not vanished but transformed into a fraternal love; the kind of unconditional love one feels for a family member or a good friend.

"I'm sorry about all these tears," Ginny said, wiping away the last tears that stained her blushed cheeks. "I've been a little too emotional lately."

"It's understandable."

Harry motioned for them to sit on the couch and Ginny followed.

"Harry the reason I came over was to say: I am so sorry for leaving without even saying goodbye or giving you an explanation. It was an awful thing to do and I'm sorry for all the pain that I put you and my family through."

"I know you are Gin, you are a good person despite your mistakes. But I promised myself that when you came back I would tell you that what hurt me the most was that you didn't trust me enough to tell me what was bothering you, to let me help you through it."

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt you, because I didn't want you to think that I wasn't proud of all your accomplishments and happy for you."

"I loved you Ginny! You were the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with! I would have been there for you even in your darkest hour, if only you had let me…"

"You didn't deserve the burden of dealing with my issues! I was trying to spare you from having to stay with me…"

"That was my decision to make! Whether I wanted to stay with you or not."

"Well I didn't! _I_ didn't want to stay with _you_ anymore…"

Silence fell over the room again. Even the grandfather clock fell silent, muffling its 'tick' 'tack' noises.

Ginny placed a gentle hand on top of Harry's.

"That didn't come out right, I'm sorry," she said. "It's not like I didn't love you anymore, but I just felt like you were starting to become a new person, with new dreams and I couldn't relate to you anymore…I didn't feel connected to you anymore."

Harry nodded.

"I know what you mean," he said. "I felt something similar but I thought it was just a phase we would get through."

"Harry I still love you, I always will, but I don't think I am _in love_ with you anymore."

"I know Gin…I kindda fell out of love too."

Harry turned to give Ginny a shy smile. She smiled too and hugged him like she had wanted to do for a long time.

"I've missed you," she said.

"I've missed you too."

"Teddy is such a wonderful boy, Harry, I always knew Remus and Tonks made the best decision by leaving him to your care."

Harry blushed.

"Having a kid is not easy, but we make do… I do love the little devil to pieces," Harry said. "You should take him out for ice-cream sometime, I'm sure he misses you."

"I would love that."

"So," Harry said, sitting in a more relaxed position. "I heard Malfoy made a bit of a scene the day you arrived."

"Ugh! Who said that? It must have been Ronald…"

"Yep"

"Malfoy didn't _make a scene_, he was cursed."

Harry burst out laughing.

"Who did it? Who finally did it? Was it George?"

Ginny gave him a sever glare and Harry stopped laughing.

"He was cursed with really powerful dark magic, Harry…and whoever did it was nowhere near him."

Harry looked puzzled.

"Dark magic?"

"Yes, dark magic so obscure that not even Hermione could find information on it."

"The kind that a Death Eater can get his hands on."

"The kind that only the most powerful Death Eaters could get their hands on, I reckon."

"What if it was dark magic that an individual wizard had created for his knowledge only? Like Snape created Sectumsepra."

"What are you saying?"

"While Malfoy was away we were finally able to thoroughly search Malfoy manor for the first time since the war…we didn't find much, but we found a book, Gin…more in the lines of a journal, written by Lucius Malfoy and filled with dark magic spells no one in the Ministry has even heard of."

"He created them?"

"Most likely."

"But why would he curse his own son?"

"The Malfoy's have never been a loving, caring family Gin… Lucius is probably mad that his little prodigy is now hunting down former Death Eaters for the Ministry."

"Can I take a look at this book?"

"No," said Harry. "No way Gin, you are not getting involved in this."

"But Malfoy could use the information I'm sure…"

"So I will brief him on his father's journal when he gets back to work," said Harry with finality. "Malfoy might be playing for our team now, but he is still a _Malfoy _and Merlin knows what sort of trouble he could get you into."

_The really pleasurable kind, _thought Ginny but prudently kept her mouth shut.

* * *

"You missed dinner Ginny, dear."

Ginny smiled at the sight of her mother reading a gossip magazine at the kitchen table: her favorite thing to do at the end of every day, when she finally had time to herself.

"I'm sorry mum…I went to see Harry."

Mrs. Weasley looked up from her magazine and gave her daughter a worried look.

"Is everything alright between you two?"

"It is…everything is finally alright."

"I am glad, dear."

In spite of her trying, Mrs. Weasley's features still showed traces of worry.

"Gin, did he tell you…did you talk about him and…"

With a loud 'puff' Hermione was suddenly standing in the middle of the kitchen, looking extremely tired.

"Hermione?"

"I am sorry to show up here so late at night Molly, but Ronald is snoring so much he won't let me sleep…and I am so tired! Could I spend the night here?"

"But of course, I will get Ronald's room ready for you."

Mrs. Weasley exited the room and Ginny suddenly rushed to Hermione's side.

"I am so glad you are here! I was about to send my patronus your way, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" Hermione said while yawning at the same time.

"I need Draco's address, and I know you have it somewhere in your hospital records."

"Oh Ginny! Why would you need his address this late at night?"

"I need to talk to him, it is very important that I do."

"About what?"

"About his injury, I have some information he might find useful to catch the person who hurt him."

"Can't you just send him an owl?"

"No, I need to see him!" Ginny practically screamed in frustration.

Hermione gave her a questioning look.

"I need to see him to give him this information myself, an owl can easily be intercepted."

Hermione shook her head in disapproval but grabbed a quill and a piece of parchment.

"Here, this is his address."

Ginny took the piece of paper.

"Thanks 'Mione! Please don't tell mum where I went."

* * *

It was a little past three in the morning and Ginny was standing in front of Draco Malfoy's flat in London. She took a deep breath and knocked twice before he opened the door.

"What are you doing here?"

Malfoy looked sleepy, his eyes almost squinting as he tried to figure out why Ginny was standing outside his apartment. He also looked really attractive, wearing nothing but pajama pants.

"I have to tell you something, can I come in?"

"Weasley, if you are going to declare your undying love can you please wait 'till the morning? I was kindda in the middle of sleeping."

"Ha ha! Very funny."

Ginny pushed past Malfoy and into the very luxurious living area of his flat. Malfoy's flat was exactly what Ginny expected it to be: high ceilings, tall windows, minimalistic furniture in nothing but silver, black and grey tones.

She turned to face him.

"This is serious Malfoy," she said. "I think your father is trying to kill you."

* * *

_**Sorry for the incredibly long delay! I hope you liked this chapter, I had fun writing it because I do love Harry and I enjoyed writing him and Teddy together :) Wait for the next chapter, it's gonna have a lot of Draco/Ginny interaction! Thanks for reading and keep reviewing! **_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

As he slid on his previously discarded t-shirt, Draco's mind furiously tried to process Ginny's accusation towards his father. She insisted Lucius was trying to kill him and the most bizarre part was that Draco had no trouble believing it; Draco had, after all, been hunting his own father for the past four years in order to lock him up in Azkaban.

"Did you hear what I said?" asked Ginny.

Draco nodded.

"Do you want anything to drink? I'm having some firewhiskey," he said.

"Uhh sure, I guess."

Draco opened his liquor cabinet and poured to short glasses of the magical liquor. He handed Ginny one and downed his in one sip. Then, he let himself fall back on the plush couch and motioned for Ginny to sit next to him.

"Now, take a sit and tell me everything you know."

"Right. I was talking to Harry earlier tonight…"

"Ah! You're back together?"

The words escaped Draco's lips before he could stop them. The thought of Ginny and Potter together, that same night, in bed…it made Draco want to punch something. Instead, he focused his energy in making his words sound casual and nonchalant. Ginny could never know the effect she had on him.

"Malfoy that is not relevant right now," Ginny said. "The point is Harry told me the Ministry finally had a chance to search Malfoy manor while you were gone…"

"They did what?!"

"Honestly I'm surprised they hadn't searched the manor before, after all Voldemort _was _stationed there for a period of time…"

"They hadn't searched it before because I have a court order that says they can't!"

"Why would you do that?!"

"Do you know what the Ministry detectives do to former Death Eater houses when they 'search' them? They destroy _everything_. If they are kind enough they leave the structure standing."

Malfoy poured himself another drink and downed it as fast as the last one.

"Malfoy manor wasn't just a place where Voldemort was stationed for a period of time, it was the place where _I grew up! _It was they place where I spent my Christmases, and my birthdays…I might not have had great parents but that doesn't mean my childhood memories can be thrown away and destroyed at the Ministry's whim…I am going to kill Potter! I told him years ago I had already searched the manor myself…"

"Well clearly you didn't search well enough because they found a journal that belongs to your father, a journal with all kinds of dark magic courses and spells…I think he used one of them to hurt you the day we came back, I think he is trying to send you a message."

Draco noticed the concern in Ginny's features.

"Malfoy I promise I will personally yell at Harry if they destroyed anything at Malfoy manor, but you have to focus on finding out what Lucius wants and why he tried to hurt you."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to help me?"

Ginny shrugged her shoulders and her freckled cheeks turned a soft pink.

"I…I guess I have my own personal reasons to want to see Lucius in Azkaban…I mean, he did give me Tom Riddle's diary my second year and got me into serious trouble."

"Oh! Right," said Draco. If he was being honest with himself he was a little disappointed that Ginny was helping him for her own personal revenge and not because she was concerned about him. Draco was almost sure her and Potter were back together and she had completely forgotten about their night in Seattle.

"Well, for starters we need to take a look at that journal, do you have access to it?" he said, trying to take his mind off Ginny Weasley and focus on important matters, like catching his father once and for all.

"No, don't you?"

"If the Ministry raided my house behind my back they won't let me anywhere near what they found."

"I asked Harry if I could take a look but he said no."

"Not even as a favor to his girlfriend?"

Draco mentally slapped himself for asking that question.

_I must be a masochist, _he thought.

"I am not his girlfriend anymore, ok? I saw Harry tonight and we both decided that what we had was over a long time ago."

Draco tried with all his might to contain the overwhelming need to smile like an idiot.

"Oh."

"Not that it makes any difference to you."

Maybe Draco was imagining it, but he could have sworn Ginny's expression implied her words had been more a question than a statement.

"Why would it?" he asked, locking his gaze with Ginny's.

She remained silent, her eyes never leaving his. Draco leaned forward to the point where their faces where so close he could feel her breath brushing his skin. He wanted to kiss her, to let her know with his lips and his entire body how irrationally happy it made him to know she was not in love with Potter.

* * *

Ginny noticed Malfoy leaning in, getting so close it made her shiver slightly with excitement. She had wanted to lean closer to him too, meet his lips with hers, but she had already made herself extremely vulnerable to him by initiating sex their last night in Seattle, and even more so by coming to his apartment in the middle of the night. She needed to know Malfoy had feelings for her beyond sexual desire before she rushed into anything else with him.

"Blaise! Blaise Zabini!" Ginny suddenly screamed

"What the…?"

"Zabini works for the ministry right? I heard he works in the Archives Department, maybe he can get us access to your father's journal."

"Yeah he owes me a couple of favors," Malfoy said.

"Great! Let's go!"

"Weasley, it is three in the morning. Zabini is probably just getting home from whatever club he goes to on Thursdays…and he is probably not alone."

"Oh."

"Let's wait a couple of hours, then we will ambush him before he leaves for work."

"Alright."

"Are you hungry?" Malfoy asked.

"Actually, I'm starving."

* * *

Boxes of take out where scattered on a small coffee table. Ginny and Malfoy sat on one of the couches in the living area.

"Wow! That's bloody good Chinese food," said Ginny.

"Yeah, my friend Louie recommended the place and it's open all night."

"Louie? Did he go to Hogwarts?"

"No, he's a squib, I met him while I was tracking the first Death Eater I ever hunted down…he works for the muggle police so he helped me get some information I needed."

"Ah! That's how you survived in the muggle world while you looked for me."

"Exactly."

"Oh! Malfoy, your arm! It's bleeding again."

Alarmed, Ginny grabbed Malfoy's arm.

"It's fine, the wound is just healing very slowly…sometimes it bleeds when I move my arm too much."

"Do you have spare bandages?"

"Yeah they are in the bathroom…"

Before Malfoy could finish the sentence, Ginny quickly stood up and made her way to the bathroom, where she retrieved some bandages and gauze.

"Here," she said and grabbed his arm again. Gently she took the bloody bandages off and started cleaning the wound.

"You didn't have to…"

"Your welcome," she said, smiling at Malfoy.

Ginny did not know why she had been so quick to want to help Malfoy, but she liked the feeling of helping him: helping him clean his wound, helping him find his father, helping him with any problem he might have because she lived for the times when he smiled at her with that smile she was sure no other girl in the world had ever seen.

"Besides, I have to practice if I want to get into the St. Mungo's teaching program next year," said Ginny.

"You want to be a healer?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it ever since before I left and now, after I talked to Hermione about her own experience, I am sure of it."

Draco smiled at her and she felt her heart jump.

"I think that's a good idea," he said. "My mother was a healer, before she married my father."

"I didn't know that."

Ginny was surprised that Malfoy was talking to her about his family when he rarely ever mentioned them, but she was not going to question his motives; perhaps this was the sign she was looking for.

"Yeah, she was good at it too, but Father didn't want her to keep working after they got married."

Ginny finished applying the new bandages to Malfoy's wound.

"All done."

"Thanks."

"Draco?" Ginny said.

He looked surprised; almost as surprised as Ginny was when Malfoy's first name escaped her lips almost as naturally as if she was saying her own name.

"Ehemm…in Seattle you said something…you said my people had murdered your mother…"

"Ginny don't…"

"I want to know, why would they do such a thing? Why didn't they give her a fair trial? Sent her to Azkaban with the rest of Voldemort's allies?"

"They didn't mean to kill her," Malfoy said, clearly reluctant to talk about the subject.

"Huh?"

"Ginny this is not something you are gonna like hearing…it's better if we don't talk about it."

"I can take it, I want to know."

Malfoy sighed and lowered his gaze to stare intently at his own hands.

"After some Aurors arrested Mother and me, they took me to a holding cell and they took Mother somewhere else…I never saw her again after that. I kept asking the guards where she was but no one would say anything to me. Then, a few days later I was supposed to be taken for my trial but instead I was taken into a small, dark room where Shacklebolt was waiting for me. He said the Ministry was ready to cut a deal with me: they would spare me from going to Azkaban if I agreed to work for them, help them find every single Death Eater and bring them to justice. I asked Shacklebolt why me, and he said I was just a kid and I had lost too much already. I didn't understand what he meant but I agreed to cut a deal with them… anything to avoid Azkaban. When I was finally released, Zabini showed up at my place, he told me they had taken my mother into questioning the moment we had been arrested. He told me they had tortured her for days, asking her where my father was, but she refused to reveal anything so they kept torturing her and at some point, some idiot took it too far and she couldn't take it anymore…she died being tortured by the Ministry."

Ginny brought her hand to her mouth as she tried to repress a sob and hold back the tears that were already drenching her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," she said and embraced Malfoy. "I had no idea, I thought…I thought everyone was getting a fair trail, I thought…"

"Anger and resentment are powerful emotions, people in the wizarding world were angry and they took their anger out on whomever they could place a little bit of blame," Malfoy said.

Ginny sat back, facing Malfoy. She could see the pain in his eyes. His squared jaw was evidence of the effort he was making to repress any tears.

She took his hand in hers and squeezed it.

"What they did to your mother was wrong, and nobody deserves that, I am so sorry Draco."

* * *

Draco noticed Ginny's small hand covering his and that simple gesture made him feel a little less sad about the death of the only person he had ever loved. But when he met her eyes, Draco was sure he noticed pity in the way she looked at him. Thinking that she was only being nice and affectionate towards him because she felt sorry for the poor, lonely orphan made him angry, especially because of how much he wished her affection was sincere.

"Shacklebolt's pity saved me from a life in Azkaban, but I don't need _your_ pity so just forget I ever told you about this, alright?" said Draco, abruptly standing up from the couch.

"I wasn't…It's not pity I feel…"

"Save it Weasley! Look, we don't have to play this game where we pretend to care about each other just because we had sex once…it was a mistake and it won't ever happen again so lets move on and try to find my bastard father so you and I both can get the revenge we are looking for."

Ginny stood up from the couch too, anger evident in her features, mixed with another emotion Draco was afraid to recognize as hurt.

"Fine have it your way ferret! Let's go find Zabini."

* * *

**_Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, I hope it was worth it though. Please continue to be patient, and reading. And please review!_**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

"Draco, it's been too long mate!"

Malfoy and Zabini shook hands. Then, Malfoy stood aside and Ginny realized why Blaise Zabini had such a lady's man reputation. The man was even more attractive than Ginny remembered: tall, dark and handsome, like the heroes in every romantic novel Mrs. Weasley had ever read. If that wasn't enough, Zabini had grown to be built like a real-life Adonis.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Zabini directed the question at Draco, but stared at Ginny as if he had just witnessed a miracle.

"Nope," said Draco.

"Then she's fair game," whispered Zabini as he extended his hand to grab Ginny's and kiss the back of her hand. "Blaise Zabini, a pleasure to meet you."

"Except we've met before," said Ginny. "Ginny Weasley."

"You don't say!" Zabini let out a loud chuckle. "Well Ginny Weasley, I believe we have a lot of catching up to do."

Zabini moved to make way for Draco and Ginny to enter his house. He lived in a nice, elegant town-home in the outskirts of London. Ginny was surprised to find the inside of Zabini's home to be as clean and elegant as the outside. She was also surprised to find a television sitting in the middle of the living area.

"You own a tele?"

"Yes, quite an excellent muggle invention."

"I agree."

"Maybe we should get together sometime and watch the tele…maybe I could cook you some dinner…"

"I'm sure that would be lovely, but we are here on business," said Draco, his tone of voice sounding angrier than he had expected.

His stupid feelings for the youngest Weasley were getting in the way of his work and this annoyed Draco to no end. But, somehow, Draco found himself even more annoyed by the fact that Zabini was blatantly flirting with Ginny and that she was reciprocating.

_ One minute she is consoling me, and the next she is flirting with my friend! I need to get this woman out of my life before she drives me completely insane. _

"Business?" asked Zabini, temporarily distracted from his seduction efforts.

"Yes," said Draco. "I need you to do me a favor, and I need you to not ask why."

Zabini looked intrigued.

"What is it?"

"I was told Malfoy manor was raided while I was out…on business."

"Yes," Zabini placed his hand on Malfoy's shoulder in a sincere gesture of sympathy. "I'm sorry, mate, I tried to stop it but you know I don't have any say over those matters…"

"It's fine, Potter and I will eventually have a long chat about that, but about the favor…"

"We need you to go over the evidence from the raid and find a journal that belonged to Lucius," interrupted Ginny.

"Well, doll, I guess if you ask nicely..."

"_She _is not asking, _I am._"

* * *

Ginny noticed Draco's jaws tighten up every time Zabini made a slightly flirtatious comment towards her. She noticed the dirty looks he gave Zabini and the way he constantly changed the subject away from her. Even if she didn't know anything about men, she would have known Draco was jealous. Ginny allowed a tiny part of herself to rejoice in this knowledge, and decided to prolong that feeling for as long as she could.

"We _both_ are," she said, flashing Zabini one of the smiles that used to get her big tips. "And I am asking very nicely."

Zabini returned her smile and winked at her.

"You got it, doll."

Ginny noticed Draco rolling his eyes.

"Fine, when can you get the journal to me?" he asked.

"I'm not going to lie, it's a risky move, mate," Zabini said. "But if all goes well I will have it by the end of the week…you will need to return it though."

"Of course," said Draco.

"Maybe I'll personally return it," Ginny bit her lower lip. "Maybe I will bring it here and we can do something…like watch the tele."

Ginny was putting to work all the skills she had acquired while working at Savages, and they were working on Zabini.

"That sounds lovely…but perhaps we shouldn't wait that long to get together."

"Perhaps…send me an owl and I'll let you know if I am free one of these days."

"I think it's time to go," declared Draco and grabbed Ginny's elbow.

"Well, mate, I'll be in touch."

"Yeah, fine, let's go."

Draco softly pushed Ginny to the door and they both exited the house.

* * *

"What was that about?!" asked Draco as soon as Zabini closed the front door behind them.

"What?"

"Trying to fulfill your teenage dreams by sleeping with your old crush?"

"It's none of your bloody business, is it?"

Draco wanted to reply that it was, that it was very much his business when she made him want to punch an old friend for flirting with her. But he was also very much aware that only a few hours earlier he had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her and he had called their night together a mistake. If he had ever had a chance with her it was long gone.

_And so much for the better,_ Draco told himself.

"Never mind," he said.

"So, what is our next move?" Ginny asked.

Draco couldn't believe that after all that had happened between them, she was still willing to work with him. A part of him wanted to continue with the foolish work arrangement, he wanted Ginny to tag along with him in the scariest and most important quest of his life, but the more cowardly part of him was afraid of what spending more time with Ginny would do to his psyche…and his heart.

"_We_ don't have a next move," he said. "I appreciate your help so far but this is it, I don't need you anymore."

Ginny looked hurt. She stood silent for a moment before her freckled face turned crimson red and she exploded.

"Have it your way Malfoy! Just don't come back asking me to help you with anything, EVER! If I never see your ferret-face again it will be the best thing that every happened to me!" she practically screamed. "Sleeping with you was the worst mistake I have ever made."

With a loud bang she was gone. Draco had never felt so alone.

* * *

Ginny walked the halls of the Ministry of Magic, slightly tempted to take the elevator down to the lowest level and visit the blonde-haired man who had turned her world upside-down. It had been a few days since her last encounter with Draco and she hated to admit she had thought about him every day since. She had even missed him.

But today was different, today Ginny was excited because she was about to pick Teddy up and take him for ice cream. She was looking forward to spending time with the little boy and catching up on everything she had missed in his life.

Ginny reached Harry's office and approached the secretary's desk.

"Hi," said Ginny. "I'm here to see Mr. Potter."

"Are you Miss Weasley?"

Ginny nodded.

"He's expecting you, you can go in."

Before Ginny could take a step, the door to Harry's office burst open and a small boy came running towards her.

"Aunt Ginny! I want butterscotch _idcleam_!"

Ginny kneeled and hugged Teddy.

"Hi, buddy!"

Harry stepped out of his office after his son.

"Ted you can't run out off my office like that…oh hi, Ginny!"

"Hi."

Ginny smiled.

"Can I talk to you for a second before you two leave?"

"Sure," said Ginny. "Wait right here okay, buddy?"

"Yup," replied Teddy, who had already gotten distracted with a potted plant.

"Doris, please keep an eye on him," said Harry to his secretary before closing the door behind Ginny and him.

"Why so secretive?" asked Ginny.

"Well…I…uh…well the reason I asked you to pick Teddy up at my office and not my flat is because…well Luna is in my flat right now."

"Huh?"

"She lives in my flat…with me…with Teddy and me."

"So you two are together?"

"Yes, that's what I mean."

Ginny giggled at Harry's concerned look.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked with a serious tone.

"Because you are so uncomfortable telling me this when it is the most natural thing in the world."

"It is?"

"Yes, when I left I never assumed you were going to wait for me…I'm glad you and Luna are together Harry, she is great."

"Thank you, Gin…she's great with Teddy too."

"I am so happy for you, Harry."

"That means a lot to me, it really does."

Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry in a warm embrace.

"Well now that this is settled, I'm going to take my nephew for ice cream," Ginny said cheerfully.

Harry and Ginny exited the office just to find Doris frantically searching under the tables and chairs.

"What happened Doris? Where is Teddy?"

"I…I turned around for a second and he was gone…"

"Bloody hell!"

"It's going to be okay, Harry, we'll find him…why don't you search this floor and I will search the lobby."

* * *

Draco took one last bite from his lunch and threw the rest in the trashcan. Witches and wizards walked hurriedly around him, most likely trying to get back to work before anybody noticed they had taken too long of a lunch break. An old, bald man bumped against Draco.

"Watch it, idiot!" Draco screamed even though the man was already out of sight.

Draco's spirits had been down since the day Ginny and him had visited Zabini. Thinking about Ginny had kept him from sleep and distracted at work for the past few days. This had made Draco irritable, and any little nuisance triggered his anger.

On his way to the elevator that would take him to his cold, dark basement, Draco spotted a tiny human sitting on the floor, sobbing. Draco approached the kid with reservations, not knowing to whom the kid belonged to, but decided not to leave a child crying by himself.

"What are you doing, buddy?"

The kid looked up at Draco with big, green eyes that rapidly changed to a soft brown color. He kept crying, tears drenching his flustered cheeks.

"Do you need help?" asked Draco.

The child nodded. Draco sat down next to him.

"Are you lost?"

The child shook his head no.

"My daddy and auntie _ad_ lost."

After the child said that, he resumed his frantic crying.

"Hey don't cry, buddy, it's going to be okay I'm going to help you find them, okay?"

The child nodded and wrapped his little arms around Draco's neck, sobbing silently.

"What is your name?" asked Draco as he stood up, picking the child up with him.

"Teddy."

"And your daddy's name?"

"Daddy."

Draco chuckled.

"Yes, but what do other people call him?"

"Oh!" the child giggled. "_Haddy_."

* * *

Ginny spotted the light, blonde hair from the moment she stepped out of the elevators and into the lobby. For some reason Draco was sitting on the floor, like a child. Ginny walked against the sea of people to take a better a look. Suddenly, Draco stood up and to Ginny's surprise he had a child in his arms, holding on to him for dear life. Ginny recognize Teddy as the child and started running towards them.

"Teddy!"

"Aunt Ginny!" the child screamed back from Draco's arms.

"Oh! We were so worried," she said and then directed her attention to Draco. "Malfoy, what's going on?"  
"I didn't steal the kid if that's what you're implying Weasley," he said.

"He helped me!" said Teddy excitedly.

"He did?"

"The kid was crying," said Draco, as if trying to defend his good action.

"Well I'm here now and we are going to get ice cream, so if you'll excuse us…"

"I wouldn't want to get in the way," Draco said.

"And yet somehow you always end up getting in _my _way."

"I could say the same thing, Weasley."

"Go to hell, Malfoy!"

"After you."

Ginny glared at the man who had swamped her thoughts for days and turned to walk away, Teddy safely in her arms.

"You said a bad word…" said Teddy.

Ginny giggled.

"Don't tell daddy."

* * *

_**This chapter is long overdue, I know. As a meager excuse I can say that this is my last semester of college and I've had a rough couple of months trying to find a job, deal with final projects and papers and plan for graduation. Which brings me to my next announcement: I won't be posting the next chapter until the end of this month or the first week of June, depending on how things go. The reason for this is that I will be having finals next week and then I will be graduating, so I'll be too busy to write anything and I do wanna take my time to write the next chapter because it is a really important one in term of plot and character development. I am sorry in advance for making you wait so long. I hope you stick with me and thank you for being patient. Please review!**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen **

"What do you think?"

"Ginny it's a beautiful home."

Ginny and Hermione stood in the kitchen of Ginny's new house. It had taken Ginny a few months to move out of her parent's home, but she had finally decided to buy a small piece of land not too far from her parents' and had conjured up a small, cozy, two-story home with a big back yard and a porch.

"So what made you finally take the leap and move out?" said Hermione while helping herself to some freshly brewed tea.

"Honestly I have to say it was all the bloody relatives and their noisy visits…no offense."

Hermione giggled.

"None taken," she said.

"I love seeing my siblings and my nieces and nephews…but not when I'm trying to study for Healing exams…I just had to get my space."

"I understand, when I was studying for my Healing exams I would kick Ronald out of the house for days at a time…how's Healing Education going by the way?"

"It's great! It's everything you said it would be: though but incredibly exciting," said Ginny. "I can't wait until I get to start my internship at St. Mungo's."

"I can't wait for you to start," said Hermione.

Both women smiled and took a sip of their teas.

"So how is Ron? I haven't seen him in a while," asked Ginny.

"Oh! He has been so busy with the whole Malfoy case…"

Ginny looked puzzled. Her heart started to race for no apparent reason except the mention of Draco's last name. She hadn't seen or heard from him in almost three months.

_Just the way I wanted it,_ Ginny told herself.

"You haven't heard? I thought you and Malfoy were friends or something…"

"No, not friends nor anything else," said Ginny with finality. "What about the Malfoy case, though?

"Apparently Draco found a lead to his father's whereabouts," said Hermione, lowering her voice as if somebody else could overhear her. "Ron has been working with Harry in organizing a hunting party if you will, to go catch Lucius Malfoy once and for all."

"Wait a minute, why are Ron and Harry involved? Why isn't Dra…Malfoy acting alone like he always does?"

"Harry thought it best to keep Malfoy as removed as possible from the case, seeing as he has a personal link with the case."

"But Malfoy has been working to catch his father for years…"

"Harry thinks Draco's emotions might get in the way, he might end up letting his father go."

Ginny stood silent for a moment. In her heart she knew Draco would never do such a thing; she knew he wanted his father locked up in Azkaban as much, if not more than Harry or Ron did. She also knew that being kept away from the case must be killing Draco, and she felt herself sadden a little for him.

* * *

After Hermione's visit, Ginny was finally alone in her new home. She looked around the small living area, which was populated by two lounging sofas covered in floral print, a small coffee table, a rustic fireplace and a large plasma TV courtesy of Mr. Weasley. Ginny smiled, for the first time in her life she would be living completely alone; she wouldn't have to share a bathroom, or wake up to the sound her mother humming, her brothers fighting or Dee sneaking in from a late night out.

Ginny had to admit she was also at a loss on what to do with all the space just for herself. She spun in place a couple of times, trying to figure out what to do with herself. She opted for pouring herself a glass of expensive firewhiskey—Bill's housewarming gift—and run herself a nice, warm bath.

Just as Ginny was about to head upstairs a loud banging on the front door startled her. She hesitated to approach the door, weary of who would be so rudely knocking on her door at such late hour. Suddenly, she heard a loud thud as something heavy hit the ground on the other side of her front door. She rushed to open the door, moved by curiosity, only to find none other than Draco Malfoy lying unconscious on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

It took Ginny a second to register the scene before her. Draco's blood was flowing copiously from his right arm, which had been badly slashed above the shoulder so that his forearm was barely attached to the rest of his arm by a thin thread of skin. Ginny could see the layers of skin, muscle and bone cut with precision. But the perpetrator's job had clearly been interrupted right before he was able to finish cutting off Draco's arm.

Ginny' shock quickly wore off and her healer training kicked in. With tremendous effort, she lifted Draco's body from the floor and dragged him into her home. She grabbed her wand from the small coffee table in the living room and levitated Draco's body the rest of the way to the guest room on the second floor. Then, Ginny moved as fast as she could: cleaning the wound and performing every enchantment she knew to attach flesh, bone and muscle. When she finished, Draco's arm was whole again but extremely swollen and with a deep cut that would surely leave a scar when healed. Draco was still unconscious, but in order to prevent him from waking up to horrifying pain, Ginny fed him a sleeping potion that would keep him safely lost in his dreams for the rest of the night.

When it was all done, Ginny sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow. She looked around the room—as if suddenly awakened from a trance—and noticed potion ingredients scattered all over the floor, blood stains on the bed sheets and the floor, potion bottles toppled over, draining their contents on various surfaces. She cast a quick cleaning spell and everything in the room went back to normal except for the bizarre fact that Draco Malfoy was peacefully sleeping in her guest room. Ginny also noticed his clothes: a dark suit and what used to be a white shirt torn beyond repair and covered in dried blood. She couldn't leave Draco like that: all the dirt in those clothes would most likely cause his wound to get infected.

Ginny had seen her share of naked men but somehow, as she removed Draco's clothes, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. As much as Ginny wanted to believe so, Draco was not just a man she had once spent the night with, he meant so much more to her. Ginny finished removing his clothing but left his undergarments on. She also made a mental note to sneak into her parent's home in the morning and steal some of Ron's old clothes, which Molly still stored for the times when Hermione kicked Ronald out of the house for one reason or another.

Having finished the tasks at hand and noticing she had nothing to do but wait for Draco to wake up, Ginny let herself fall back in bed next to him, staring at the ceiling with a million unanswered questions running through her mind. She felt exhausted, but she didn't dare leave Draco's side in case he woke up before she anticipated. Slowly Ginny felt herself drift into a realm of disturbing nightmares, many of which involved not being able to save Draco, and she was overcome by anxiety.

* * *

What started as a minor soreness trailing from Draco's arm, and at times interrupting his sleep, quickly became an excruciating pain that forced Draco's mind back to consciousness. He opened his eyes and was unable to recognize his surroundings; he was lying in a comfortable bed, surrounded by mint-green walls, and carved wood furnishings. The scene looked harmless enough but Draco knew better than to trust pretty things. He tried to use both his arms to lift himself up into a sitting position but as soon as he moved his right arm, the pain became unbearable and Draco was forced to lie down once again.

Suddenly a torrent of memories filled his mind as Draco remembered last night's happenings and why his arm hurt so much: it had been practically amputated. He also remembered apparating at Ginny's front door after his scape from danger, he remembered thinking the end of his life was near, he remembered being sure of only one thing: he needed to see her one last time.

As if summoned by Draco's thoughts, Ginny Weasley entered the room. She was carrying with her some clothes and a tray with breakfast. Draco noticed she looked even more beautiful than he remembered: she was wearing a summer dress, her hair up in a ponytail and no makeup.

"You're awake," she said, slightly startled.

Draco opened his mouth to say something but no words came out, that's when he noticed how dry his throat was and how thirsty he had been all this time.

"Water," was all he managed to whisper with a raspy voice.

Ginny nodded and hurried to pour him some water, to which she added a couple of drops from a blue potion.

"It's for the pain, your arm must be killing you," she explained.

Draco nodded and drank the contents of the glass in one gulp. He cleared his throat and was finally able to speak.

"Thank you." It was all he could say, even though he had a million other things he wanted to confess to her.

"Thank me when this has healed properly," Ginny said, pointing to his arm. "What is Merlin's name happened to you?" she finally asked.

"I don't want to…" Draco began.

"Talk about it? Oh! We are going to talk about it! You owe me an explanation, Draco! You owe me at least that because you scared the _crap_ out of me when I saw you lying on the floor, covered in blood! You looked…d…dead…and I was so scared you little prick! I thought you were going to die in my arms and I was never going to forgive myself…"

As angry as Ginny looked, Draco noticed a tear running down her cheek. _Could it be true? Had she really been scared to lose him? _

"I'm…sorry?" Draco said.

"You better be!"

Ginny turned her attention to his bandages. She began removing them and exchanging them for clean ones, all the while not saying a word or even making eye contact with him.

"Hey," Draco said, getting Ginny's attention. "Look at me."

Ginny finally lifted her gaze to meet his.

"What?"

"I'm fine."

"No, you are not fine! Your arm…"

"I'm alive, and it's because of you. You saved my life," Draco interrupted. "Thank you."

Ginny sighed, looking a little calmer than before. She grabbed the breakfast tray she had brought in with her and put it on Draco's lap.

"I made you breakfast," she said.

"Thanks."

"I know you might not be hungry but the potion for the pain might make you nauseous if you don't eat."

Draco nodded and began eating small spoonfuls of the oatmeal in front of him.

"While you eat, you can start explaining yourself," Ginny said with a tone that told Draco this was not a request but an order.

"It was my father," Draco finally said.

"You found him?" asked Ginny. "But I thought Harry and Ron were after him, I thought they had removed you from the case."

"They tried," said Draco angrily. "But I'll die before I follow orders from those two incompetent…" he noticed Ginny's expression and stopped himself. Draco knew that no matter how much Ginny might like him, she would never share his opinion about Potter and her brother.

"Anyway," Draco continued. "Potter and them think I'm off in some Caribbean island taking a break for my job. But all this time I've been tracking my father and last night I finally was able to meet face to face with him."

Draco took another sip from his glass of water.

"I was able to anticipate his moves. I knew he would eventually have to return to one of the secret Malfoy properties in Spain and I was waiting there for him until he finally showed up, last night. I had a plan, I had him trapped. I was able to stun him before he knew I was there, I was going to bring him to justice but before that I _had_ to ask him…I _had _to know why he hadn't turned himself in when the Ministry was torturing my mother. He could have saved her but he chose not to, and I had to know why. So I tied him up and I waited for him to wake up. When he did, he started doing what he does best: manipulating, lying. I didn't fall for it but I was so stupid I didn't notice he was also using wandless magic to summon his and my wand. When he did…it all happened so fast…he used Crucio on me for a long time, all the while saying something about how I didn't deserve the mark and he had to remove it…that's when he tried to cut my arm off…I was able to use his own trick on him though, I was weak from all the pain but I used whatever strength I had to use wandless magic and apparate out of there."

"That's when you showed up at my door," said Ginny.

Draco nodded.

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why _my_ door? Why not St. Mungo's or Zabini's or anyone else? Why _me_?"

"I was so certain I was going to die last night," Draco said. "I had accepted it was the end and then I realized there was just one last thing I needed to do."

"What?"

"I needed to see you. I wanted yours to be the last face I saw before I died."

* * *

**_I'm finally back! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thank you for your immense patience. I really appreciate those of you who keep reading and pleas review. I will see you in two weeks with another chapter. _**


	17. Chapter 17

**_Did I say two weeks? I meant a few hours LOL I got inspired and I wrote the next chapter, so here it is..._**

**Chapter Seventeen**

A knock on the door gave Ginny the excuse she needed to flee the room. She gave Draco an apologetic look and ran downstairs. When she reached the front door, she stopped and leaned against the wall.

_What had just happened? What did Draco's words mean? Did she really mean that much to him? Was he trying to tell her he liked…maybe even loved her?_

_ And how did she feel about him?_

Ginny pushed all those thoughts into the back of her mind; she felt too overwhelmed to seek answers at that moment. Instead, she composed herself and opened the front door to reveal Blaise Zabini.

"Well that didn't take long, thanks for coming," said Ginny.

"Thanks for letting me know."

Zabini stepped into the foyer.

"Where is he?" he asked.

"Upstairs, guest bedroom…I'll take you."

Ginny led and Zabini followed in silence until they reached the room where Draco laid awaiting Ginny's return.

"Hi, mate," said Zabini. His concern evident in his tone of voice after he had taken a look at Draco's swollen, bright red arm.

"What is he doing here?" Draco asked, obviously upset.

"I sent him an owl this morning, told him what had happened," Ginny explained.

"You what?!"

"Hey, don't freak out mate…"

"Nobody's supposed to know I'm here! If word gets out to my father he will kill you and then me…you have no idea the danger you've put yourself in…" said Draco, directing his anger at Ginny.

"I'm not stupid Malfoy! I only told Blaise because I know we can trust him."

"Oh! You know _Blaise_ pretty well, do you?" said Draco bitterly, glaring back and forth at Ginny and Zabini.

"I know him well enough," Ginny said.

"Enough! I'm here because you are my friend Draco and you know I would never let the information of your whereabouts get out, where is all this mistrust coming from?"

"I…I don't know…"

"Well then stop," said Zabini. "I'm here to help."

"Help?" asked Draco.

"I need to leave for a few hours, it's Sunday and we always do brunch at mom and dad's on Sundays…they'll get suspicious if I don't show up, might even come here to find me and I don't want them finding out you're here," explained Ginny.

All of that was true but Ginny had to admit she was also relieved to be able to spend a few hours straightening her thoughts and feelings before she had to respond to Draco's confession.

"I'm here to watch out for you while she's gone," said Zabini. "Also, I brought some new information on your father's case that might be of use to you."

"Excellent," said Draco with little conviction. "I guess I'll see you later," he said to Ginny.

"Uh-hu, see you later."

Ginny rushed out of her own home as if escaping a wild fire.

* * *

"Right, so here are all the documents I was able to smuggle out of the Ministry about your father's case…"

"Get out," said Draco.

"Huh?"

Zabini looked genuinely confused.

"I know we've been friends since Hogwarts and I know you're only trying to help me but all I can picture right now, when I look at your face, is you shagging the woman I…Ginny…and it makes me really _really_ want to punch you…so get out, please."

Zabini expression went from concerned to ecstatic.

"Well I am a little concerned that you have pictured me naked at all, but I must confess I _have_ also pictured myself shagging Ginny…sadly, it has not and it will not ever happen."

" I thought you two were together by the way you almost undressed her with your eyes that time we showed up at your place."

"We went out, she wasn't into it, I moved on."

"Ah."

Draco tried to hide his relieved smile but he knew Zabini could tell how glad he was to hear him and Ginny were not a couple.

"Shall we get to work?" asked Zabini with laughter in his voice.

"Most definitely, show me what you brought."

* * *

Ginny walked into her home, took off her high heels and sweater, dropped them in the entrance closet and let out a sigh. She was exhausted after having spent most of the morning and afternoon at the Burrow, pretending to be paying attention to conversations with her family while her mind was occupied with nothing but thoughts of Draco: his feelings for her, her feelings for him, the danger he was still in with Lucius on the lose, Draco's naked body…_what? Did she just think that? _

Anyway, Ginny walked into the living room, hoping to have a drink before having to face Draco, only to find the object of her thoughts sitting by the fireplace, looking pale as ever.

"What are you doing here? You should be resting in bed!"

"I was waiting for you," he said.

"You look awful, you probably spent the little energy you have walking down the stairs, you dummy! What were you thinking?..."

Before Ginny could continue her reprimand, Draco stood up from the couch, trying really hard not to show the tremendous amount of effort this action took for him.

"Come here," he said.

Ginny rolled her eyes and took a step closer to him. He signaled for her to come closer and she did so, to the point where she could hear him breath.

"What? Malfoy we need to get you back…"

But before she could finish her sentence, Draco's lips were on hers and Ginny gladly swallowed the rest of her sentence. He gave her a light kiss and she responded. That's all the incentive Draco needed to grab her waist and deepen the kiss. They had kissed before, of course, but this time Ginny felt something more than raw passion in the way his lips moved with hers: it was as if Draco was trying to express with this kiss things he couldn't say.

When they finally broke for air, Ginny looked up to see Draco smiling with pure joy, the way she had only seen him smile a few, precious times before.

"You're not with Blaise," he said.

"That's a non-sequitur," Ginny replied with laughter in her voice; suddenly, she felt quite joyous herself.

"I thought you two were together."

"Blaise and I were never together."

"I know, he told me."

"You asked him?"

"I needed to know…you seemed pretty interested in him when we visited him a few months ago…"

Ginny blushed. She considered lying, telling Draco she had been genuinely interested in Blaise, but she decided, since Draco was being incredibly honest with her about his feelings, she would be too.

"I only flirted with Blaise to make you jealous," she confessed.

"It worked."

"I didn't think so…by the way you treated me after that morning, I thought you hated me."

"I thought _you _hated me."

"Well clearly neither of us hates the other," said Ginny, smiling.

"I don't usually go around kissing people I hate," said Draco.

They both stood silent for a moment, looking into each other's eyes, content to be where they were.

Draco leaned in to kiss her again but Ginny noticed him flinch in pain before he could do so.

"Oh no! You arm is bleeding again…Come on, let me get you upstairs."

Ginny circled Draco's waist with one arm and helped him up the stairs and into bed. Once he was settled and she had changed his bandages, Ginny conjured up some dinner and they ate together, sitting in bed, talking about everything but Draco's father or their feelings for each other.

Ginny loved her conversations with Draco. Talking to him never felt forced or awkward, and he made her laugh like nobody else—not even her siblings. She was conscious of the fact that they were both avoiding talking about their feelings or their possible future together, but she didn't care, she just wanted to spend time with him like they were two normal people who had met under normal circumstances and had instantly felt a connection. They could deal with the complicated stuff later.

* * *

_**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading. I will be posting the next chapter within the next two weeks.**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Draco woke up missing the warmth of Ginny's body next to him.

For the past weeks, Ginny had spent every night sleeping next to him, comforting him when he woke up screaming from his nightmares, tending to his wound when it hurt or started bleeding. They had also spent part of their days together: watching the tele, playing chess, talking, laughing, making out here and there and then never speaking about it. It was a nice routine and Draco was starting to wonder how he would ever do without it…or without Ginny.

With a lot less effort than it had required a few weeks ago, Draco stood up from the bed and got dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt—part of the clothes Ginny had brought back from his apartment the first week he had stayed with her.

Draco's arm still throbbed from time to time, but walking and doing everyday activities was no longer draining for him. He walked down the stairs, searching for Ginny until he found in her favorite spot: lying down on a lounge chair in the middle of her small back yard, taking in the warm, spring sunlight, surrounded by colorful flowers and the smell of fresh grass.

Draco walked up to Ginny but she didn't notice him approaching. He kneeled on the grass next to her and slowly kissed her lips. She opened her eyes, startled.

"Oh! It's you," she said, relieved.

"Who else could it be?"

Ginny giggled at Draco's concerned expression.

"No one…I'm just not used to this yet…"

"This?"

"Having a boyfriend around to wake me up with kisses and do sweet stuff like that…oh! Not that you're my boyfriend…that's not what we have to call it if you don't wanna…I was just…"

Draco laughed.

"Relax," he said. "You can call me your boyfriend…you can call me whatever you want as long as it gives me license to do this when I want to."

Draco kissed her, taking his time to explore her lips inch by inch.

"Hmmm…ok, boyfriend it is," Ginny said, smiling against his lips.

_Ginny Weasley's boyfriend_.

Draco smiled.

_Who would have thought it possible? _

But, somehow, the idea sat quite nicely with him. It had been a long time coming: plenty of months trying to avoid acknowledging his feelings for Ginny, plenty of months trying to convince himself that sleeping with her had been a mistake, that he would eventually get over the need to have her close. Now, Draco could finally act on his feelings without any fear and that was the most free he had ever felt.

Draco kissed the redhead in front of him again, this time with more passion. He gently pulled her down on top of him as he lay on the grass. They made out for a while, enjoying each other's kisses and caresses with the freedom of knowing there was nothing to hide between them anymore; no proverbial elephant in the room.

Ginny interrupted her kisses. She was the most beautiful thing Draco had ever seen: her crimson-blushed cheeks, bright red lips, the freckles on her nose, the long lashes that framed those hazel eyes that now looked at him with concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know that we should…are you feeling well enough?"

"Gin, I've been sleeping in the same bed as you for weeks without being able to do anything but kiss you good night…even if every bone of my body was broken right now, I would still find a way to make love to you."

Ginny giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, if you are up for it then you are in for the ride of your life, _mister_," she whispered in his ear before resuming her kissing.

* * *

Panting, exhausted and satisfied, Ginny let her whole body rest on top of Draco's. He circled her waist with his arms.

"Why didn't we do this sooner?" said Draco, slightly out of breath.

Ginny giggled and lifted her gazed to meet his.

"You almost lost an arm, you needed rest."

"From now on forget about resting," he said with a boyish grin plastered on his face.

Ginny shifted to sit on the grass and slipped her underwear and sundress back on. Draco frowned at this but she kissed him before he could protest.

"We're in my back yard and I live close enough to the Burrow so that any member of my family could see us out here if they looked hard enough."

"You didn't seem to mind earlier," said Draco as he followed Ginny's queue and slipped his underwear and pants back on.

"Earlier, I wasn't thinking."

"Good, you should stop doing that, it's dangerous."

Draco pulled Ginny back down so that were both lying on the grass together. She rested her head on his bare chest and could feel Draco's chest rise and fall with his steady breathing. With her eyes closed, her skin rejoiced in the warmth of the sun and the refreshing, light breeze that swept by now and then. She used her fingers to slowly trace random patterns on Draco's chest.

"You should cast some protective spells around your property," said Draco.

"I never thought about doing that, I figured I don't really have anything to hide."

"You do now."

Ginny lifter her gaze to meet Draco's and smiled.

"I suppose I do," she said. "We're going to have to tell people eventually…about us."

"Yeah, eventually."

A knock on the front door interrupted their conversation.

"I should get it."

Ginny stood up and started for the door but Draco hugged her from behind, pressing her tightly against his chest as if unwilling to let go of their perfect moment alone. Ginny felt equally unwilling to be interrupted.

"Pretend you're not home," he said.

"Okay," she whispered and turned to kiss Draco.

The first knock was followed by three more.

"It might be important," she said between kisses. "Maybe I should see who it is."

Draco shook his head 'no' and continued kissing her; slowly pushing her towards the couch where they could lay together, perhaps make love again…

"Ginny! I can hear you in there, open the bloody door!"

It was Ronald.

"Ginny, sweetie, it's us."

And Hermione.

"And me!"

And Dee.

"Oh!" Ginny whispered excitedly. "It's Dee! I have to let them in."

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes, pouting like a boy who had just been robbed of his candy. Ginny giggled.

"Come on big guy," she whispered. "You gotta hide upstairs."

"One more reason to hate him."

He meant Ron. It was Ginny's turn to roll her eyes.

"It won't take long, I promise I'll make it up to you," she said softly as she ushered a shirtless Draco upstairs.

"I will be planning the ways in which you can make it up to me," Draco said before disappearing behind the guest room door.

"Coming!" screamed Ginny.

* * *

"What took you so long?" asked Ron the minute Ginny opened the door.

"None of your business," replied Ginny and then turned her attention to Dee. "Dee! I'm so glad you're here! I didn't think I would ever see you again!"

Both women embraced, shedding a few tears and giggling like small children.

"Oh! I thought you would be terribly mad at me when you found out I was a witch and I was working with Hermione," said Dee.

"Nonesense! I really appreciate your help…both of you," Ginny said turning to Hermione.

"Well I for one still resent not being told about this little scheme of yours," interrupted Ron. "Can we come in, Gin? Or are we going to stand out here in the sun for the rest of our visit?"

"Ugh! You're so bitter Ronald," said Ginny.

She nervously stepped aside to let her visitors come into her house; crossing her fingers and hoping nothing would give away Draco's presence in the house.

"Forgive him, we haven't slept much these past few days…this baby loves kicking and moving around at night," said Hermione, whose pregnant belly prevented her from walking without wobbling a bit.

Ginny gave Hermione a sympathetic smile. As much as they complained, Hermione and Ron had never looked happier and more in love than from the moment they found out they were bringing a child into this world.

Ginny couldn't help but picture herself and Draco, sitting side by side on the couch, her pregnant belly protruding, Draco beaming with happiness…Ginny stopped herself before she went too far. After all, Draco and her had never spoken of a future together and she didn't want to get false hopes.

"What is that?" said Ron, pointing at Draco's discarded shirt on the floor, next to the small sofa where Hermione and Dee sat.

Ginny felt herself blush as she lifted the black t-shirt and attempted to hide it behind her.

"Umm…nothing…just…a rag…a cleaning rag…I was cleaning before you showed up."

She was a terrible liar and she could tell neither Hermione nor Dee bought her excuse, but Ron seemed satisfied.

"Oh,"

He yawned.

"Well I need to get some sleep while I can, do you mind if I take a nap in your guest room?" Ron asked.

"No!" said Ginny. "I mean…I got rid of the bed…because it was broken…"

Hermione interrupted Ginny before she dug herself deeper into lies that made no sense.

"Ron, let's just go home and take a nap, huh? I bet Dee and Ginny want to catch up without you nosing about."

Ron shrugged his shoulders and nodded, half asleep already. Hermione gave Ginny a concerned look and on her way out the door she whispered:

"I know I've said this before, but be careful with Malfoy…a lot of people are looking for him."

Ginny nodded reassuringly and squeezed Hermione's hand in appreciation for her discretion.

* * *

Ginny completely lost track of time as she chatted and laughed with Dee like not a day had passed since they had seen each other. Finally, Dee felt too tired and decided to say her goodbyes.

"I might not come back to visit in a long time," Dee said.

"Why?"

"I am going back to Seattle, back to John."

"So it's working out between you two?"

"We are getting married," said Dee and proudly showed the ring on her right hand.

"Oh! How fantastic! I am so happy for you!"

Ginny and Dee hugged once again.

"But," said Ginny. "What does that mean for you? Are you going to tell him that…"

"That I'm a witch? No."

Ginny looked confused.

"Gin, you know John, he wouldn't believe me, he would think I was talking crazy…and even if he did believe me he would hate me for lying to him all this time."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Being a witch has never helped me in any way…I have never been happier than the time I spent living in the muggle world with John…so that's what I'm going to do, I'm going back to him and I am going to live like a muggle for the rest of my days."

"You love him that much."

"More than anything."

"What about your family?"

"They were all killed during the war…I have no one left tying me to the Wizarding world."

"You have me."

Dee smiled reassuringly.

"You and Draco can visit us any time, John doesn't suspect a thing."

"Me and Draco?" asked Ginny, surprised by Dee's casual mention of the man who was impatiently waiting for her upstairs.

"Hermione and I could tell he was here, we heard his voice, thankfully Ron was distracted…also, you had that 'I just shagged' look about you when you opened the door."

Ginny blushed a furious shade of red and Dee giggled.

"I called it from the first moment I saw you two together…that's why I teased you so much about it even though I knew exactly who Draco was."

"Oh! You are…"

"So smart, I know."

Both women laughed and embraced one more time, once again whispering goodbye to each other, not sure if they would ever meet again.

* * *

_**So here it is. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review! The end is near so stay tuned. I will be back in a couple of weeks with a new chapter. Meanwhile, thanks to everyone who keeps reading and reviewing!**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Half asleep, Ginny felt Draco shift restlessly in bed until he finally abandoned it all together and exited the room making as little noise as possible. This brought Ginny completely back to reality from the land of dreams. She opened her eyes expecting to find it was already morning and Draco had gotten up to make breakfast, but she found only moonlight and darkness coming in through her window. The bright digits of her clock marked four a.m. Yawning, Ginny wrapped herself up in a light robe and exited the room looking for Draco.

Ginny had noticed Draco acting strange the past couple of days: it was as if most of the day he retreated to a secret place in his mind where Ginny was not allowed. But the times when he noticed her, Draco was extremely affectionate: he would tend to her every need, he would kiss her and hold her, and make her laugh, and he would make love to her in a an almost desperate manner, as if he could not get enough of her.

A loud 'bang' coming from the living room startled Ginny. She hurried down the stairs; worried that something might have happened to Draco. She found him cussing under his breath and picking up tiny pieces of a glass vase that used to decorate the coffee table. The strangest part, however, was that Draco was fully dressed in his 'hunter' robes, wand in one hand and a fistful of floo powder in the other.

"I knew it, you're leaving me," said Ginny.

Maybe that's why Draco had been acting so strange: he was tired of her and had been trying to find a way to break up. Ginny mentally slapped herself for thinking that her relationship with Draco could truly last.

"I should have seen it coming," she continued. "I should have known you would eventually get tired of playing the nice boyfriend."

"It's not that," Draco said calmly, returning the floo powder to a container next to the fireplace. "This has nothing to do with you."

"Nothing to do with me?! You are sneaking out in the middle of the night without telling me where you are going or why."

"Gin, can we please not do this now? I have to go…"

"Where? Where are you going?"

Draco sighed and very reluctantly spoke his next words: "I'm going after my father."

Draco's revelation made Ginny feel as if she had been punched in the stomach. The air escaped her lungs and her knees felt weak.

"Please tell me you did not just say you are going after the man who almost cut off your arm last time you paid his a visit…please tell me you are not doing something so stupid."

"It's not stupid! I have a plan…"

"Like you did last time?! How well did that work out for you, huh?!"

Ginny noticed the rage in Draco's eyes as they turned a darker shade of gray.

"I have to go, I cannot sit and do nothing while that man runs around free to hurt people."

"Let Harry and the rest of the Aurors take care of it, they'll catch him…"

"No! Potter and his minions don't have the first clue what they are up against…"

"But I do! And I don't want to lose you!" Ginny practically screamed as a tear escaped her and ran down the length of her cheek.

Draco stood silent, looking down and refusing to meet Ginny's gaze. She walked up to him and placed a gentle hand on his cheek.

"Please don't go," she whispered.

After a few seconds Draco lifted his gaze to meet hers. His eyes reflected a mix of confusing emotions.

"I'm sorry…I have to go."

Ginny took a few steps backwards, angrier than ever with the man standing in front of her.

"If you leave I will never forgive you!"

"If I stay I would never forgive myself!"

Draco covered the space between them with one stride and grabbed Ginny's arms to pull her close to him.

"Why can't you understand?! Why can't you be on my side for once, instead of Potter's?!" he said.

"Harry has nothing to do with this! I am on your side! I am trying to keep you alive!"

Draco looked like he wanted to scream or punch something, but instead he pressed his lips against Ginny's and kissed her with a passion he had never shown before. She kissed him back, just as furiously, channeling her every emotion into that kiss.

Their kisses quickly escalated into caresses and sensual bites in sensitive places. Draco's hands tore Ginny's robe and left her in her underwear as her hands, shaky with anger and arousal, got rid of his clothes. Draco slammed Ginny's back to the wall and kissed his way down her neck.

"This doesn't mean I will ever forgive you if you leave," she said between clenched teeth.

Draco returned to face her, his breath caressing her face, his arms still pinning her to the wall.

"This doesn't mean I'm staying."

Ginny gave him one last look of contempt and grabbed the back of his head to bring his lips back to hers. In a whirlwind of caresses, kisses and moans, Draco carried Ginny and positioned her sitting on the kitchen counter, her legs wrapped around his waist. He entered her and they made love in a way that was polar opposite to the sweet, soft and sensual experiences they had been sharing for the past few months; this time both Draco and Ginny expressed with their bodies the anger, frustration, desire and passion they felt for each other. It was loud and rough and positively exhilarating.

* * *

It was hard to take his eyes off Ginny as she laid on the couch, naked, only a thin blanket covering her from the waist down. Draco fought back the tears threatening to escape him as he tried to imagine what it would be like to never see her or touch her again.

He wished he could do what Ginny wanted: for him to stay with her and attempt to forget his father was still out and about, unpunished for all his evil deeds. But he couldn't. If he ever wanted to have a future with Ginny, free of the guilt and regret from his past life, Draco had to find some closure and that closure was in finally bringing his father to justice.

He leaned down and gently kissed Ginny's forehead while he pulled the blanket up to cover her entirely.

"I love you," he whispered. "I will come back to you, Gin."

* * *

Ginny woke up to someone knocking on her front door. She slowly took in her surroundings: she was lying on the couch, her naked body only covered by a thin blanket, no sight of Draco or his belongings. The memories of the night before hit her like a strong wave and she felt slightly dizzy. Draco was gone and chances were he would be dead in the next few days. Ginny felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach.

More knocking.

Ginny stood up and muttered a spell to cover herself with some clothes before opening the door.

"Ginny Weasley?"

A man in his thirties stood in her doorway, balding head, round complexion, wearing some sort of uniform, with a kind expression on his face.

"Who's asking?"

"I'm Louie, I'm a friend of Draco Malfoy's," he said, trying to read Ginny's expression when he mentioned Draco's name.

Ginny remembered Draco telling her about his friend Louie, who was a muggle police officer.

"Right," she said. Then it dawned on her that Draco's friend might be at her doorstep to deliver horrible news. Once again, she felt dizzy. "Is he okay? Where is Draco?"

"I don't know, Ms. Weasley…"

"Ginny."

"Ginny, I don't know where he is but I know he was planning on going after his father."

"He told you this?"

"Yes, a few days ago…listen Ginny, Draco's father is really dangerous as you probably know and Draco is taking a big risk by going after him…"

"I know, I've met the man," said Ginny.

"Good, then you know that by association you are in a lot of danger, too."

"Me?"

"I know you think you two have been ultra secretive about your…affairs…but Lucius is a clever man and, as I tried to tell Draco, it's a matter of time until he figures out the one thing in the World that could destroy Draco."

"What is that?"

"You."

Ginny looked utterly confused.

"If something ever happened to you, if Lucius hurt you or…worse…Draco would never recover."

"How…?"

"I've known Draco for some time now and I dare say I know him pretty well, if he hasn't said so to you for whatever reason: you are the one thing in this world Draco loves."

Ginny felt her heart swell with mixed emotions: happiness, love…even greater fear of losing Draco now that she knew he felt the same as she did for him.

"In any case, what I came to do is give you this."

Louie pulled out what Ginny recognized as a gun from all the muggle movies she had watched.

"A gun?"

"I know magic can be much more powerful than a bullet, but Lucius is a great wizard and your level of magic might not be enough to defeat him…if the time ever comes for you to face him he won't suspect anything of a gun until you've put a bullet through his heart."

Ginny considered Louie's words for a moment and then took the gun in her hands.

"Teach me how to shoot it?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

_**I'm back! I hope you liked this chapter as much I liked writing it. Please review! And keep reading, we only have a few more chapters to go!**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Thoughts of Draco, Lucius, dark magic and guns filled Ginny's head and chased away any possibility of sleep that night. She kept her eyes closed in hopes that she could trick her body into finally getting some sleep but she missed Draco's body next to hers, keeping her warm, making her feel safe.

Perhaps if she had been asleep, she wouldn't have noticed the slight smell of wood burning in her vicinity or the faint panicked screams. Ginny opened her eyes and abruptly sat on the bed, looking around her room, wondering if she had imagined those things. Then, she heard it again, more clearly this time: a woman screaming, the sound of fire burning unstoppable. Ginny ran to look out her window, just to find what she feared the most: the Burrow was burning bright, smoke and flames surrounding her childhood home, her parents no where in sight.

Quickly grabbing her wand and Louis' gun, Ginny ran downstairs and out the door, heading straight to what remained of her parent's house. But the moment her feet touched the fresh grass outside of her own home, the smell of smoke and burnt wood ceased to bother her nose. Ginny looked in the direction of the Burrow but instead of flames, she saw the untouched wooden structure.

Before Ginny could truly begin considering if she was going crazy, Lucius Malfoy apparated in front of her, disarmed her from her wand and muttered a spell that had her whole body tied and secured with a green, slimy version of a rope.

As much as she wanted to be, Ginny wasn't surprised. Louie had warned her the time might come for her to face Lucius, and in her heart she knew it was true: the man was too sadistic to let the opportunity of killing his son's lover pass him by.

"Lucius, it's been too long," said Ginny, trying hard to stop herself from showing any signs of fear.

"Indeed."

Lucius stared at her with a half-smile plastered on his face, which only made his sharp features seem more menacing. She could tell he saw right through her bravery act.

"Why don't we take this inside, dear? I would like to see the place where my son has been staying."

As if she weighted no more than a feather, Lucius levitated Ginny's helpless body into her house. Once inside, Lucius placed her on the sofa, next to the fireplace, and he sat opposite her, carelessly leaning on the back of the chair as if he was relaxing in the comfort of his own home.

"What did you do to the Burrow? To my parents?" spat Ginny.

"Look at you! Demanding answers from me in your very precarious position…you are a feisty one."

"Fuck you!"

Lucius' high-pitched laugh resonated all through the house.

"I've not touched your family…yet," he said. "The whole 'Burrow-on-fire' was a trick I pulled to get you out of the house."

"Why?"

"Ah! So you don't know…my son, always the sentimental kind, decided to put a couple of protective spells around the house before he abandoned you."

Louie had been right: Draco did care about her, enough to think about ways to protect her even when he was gone.

"Does that make you feel good about yourself? Does it make you happy to know Draco wanted to protect you?"

"No," Ginny lied, deciding not to allow Lucius to use Draco's feelings against him. "He didn't do it to protect me, he did it to keep my family and friends away while he kept me hostage."

"Is that so?"

Lucius' half-smile returned, letting Ginny know her lies amused but did not fool him. Tricking Lucius into thinking Draco hated her and had only been using her for his own benefit was going to be a long shot but Ginny had to at least try: if Lucius found out how much they cared for each other, he would surely use Ginny to destroy Draco once and for all.

"He had you fooled didn't he? Well he even had me fooled for a while…I believed he was a changed man, I fell in love with him…but it turned out he just wanted sleep with me and leave me, like all the other girls before me."

"Then why did you two share this love nest for months? Was he faking it then too?"

"No, he showed his true colors soon enough…he blackmailed me into nursing him to health and letting him hide in my house…then, last night he finally left."

"Blackmailed you?"

"Yes, he threatened to show evidence of our…affair…to my family, he knew they would disown me if they ever found out."

Lucius paced the floor, keeping a close eye on Ginny but clearly mulling over all the information he had just received.

"Well, only one way to find out if you are telling the truth, isn't there?"

Using Ginny's wand, Lucius summoned her new owl "Sarah." Then, he proceeded to break Ginny's want into tiny little pieces, tying them together and attaching a note to it with only a few words scribbled on it. He whispered something into Sarah's ear and she flew out the nearest window.

"Now we wait to find out how Draco truly feels about you."

* * *

Draco felt his forehead dampen with a layer of sweat as he ran the few miles that separated him from Ginny's house. A few minutes ago—minutes that had felt like hours—he had received a visit from Sarah, Ginny's owl, carrying Ginny's wand tore to pieces and a note that read: "She's alive…for now." Draco had instantly known this was his father's doing, and he also knew Ginny's life was in serious danger. Because of him, Ginny might die tonight; Draco needed to get to her before Lucius harmed her in any way or he would never be able to live with himself.

When Draco reached the front door, he heard the worst sound he had ever experienced: a piercing scream, filled with pain and fear, which could only belong to Ginny. He felt a white, hot rage, born in the pit of his stomach, spread and fill every inch of his being. He tried to reach the door to tear it down and murder the man who hid behind it, but the protective spells around the property prevented him from doing so.

"Lucius!" Draco screamed. "I'm right where you want me, let me in!"

Draco heard his father's repugnant laugh. The agonizing screams stopped and the spells disappeared to allow Draco into the property.

Once inside the only house that had ever felt like home to Draco, he felt his rage burning brighter as he saw Ginny on the floor, almost unconscious, her arms and legs tied together with slimy ropes. His father was standing above her, a triumphant smile on his face and his wand pointed at her heart.

"Surrender your wand, son…or she dies."

Draco dropped his wand to the floor, knowing well that his father's threats were never empty. Lucius summoned Draco's wand into his other hand.

"Let her go," said Draco between clenched teeth. "She has nothing to do with this."

Lucius levitated Ginny's body off the floor into a standing position. He walked over to her, leaving only a few inches of space between them.

"She has everything to do with this," he said. "She is the weapon I have been searching for all this time: the one thing that I can use to destroy you once and for all."

"You have me here, wandless…you don't need her anymore."

"True," Lucius replied. "It will be such a shame to get rid of her though, despite being a Weasley, she is a looker."

Lucius gave his son a twisted grin before slowly caressing Ginny's face. In her stupor, she was to weak to do anything about it but frown. Draco couldn't take it anymore, he threw himself at his father, using his whole weight to tackle the tall man and started throwing punches at him. It took Lucius a few seconds, but he recovered his wand and pointed it at Draco.

"Crucio!" he screamed.

Draco was familiar with the torturous pain that followed those words; his father had used the Cruciatus course on him countless times before. But being familiar with said pain did not mean it was less excruciating. Draco screamed in rage, frustration and pain. His father laughed.

* * *

Draco's screams brought Ginny back to consciousness. She opened her eyes to witness Lucius torturing Draco. So he _had_ come back for her. Louie and Lucius were right: she was Draco's weak spot as much as he was hers.

Watching Draco suffer broke her heart but strengthened her resolve to fight Lucius and win.

_Louie. Louie's gun. _

Ginny almost smiled as she remembered having taken Louie's gun with her. She felt it still, securely hidden in her back pocket. Slowly, so as to not capture Lucius' attention, Ginny reached for the gun. She pointed it at Lucius' heart, like Louie had taught her.

"I think you should stop that," she said out loud.

Lucius stopped his torture and turned to her, a sarcastic smile on his face. Before he could say a word, Ginny fired a bullet that lodged itself a little below her target's heart.

"I want you to live with the fact," Ginny said as she slowly brought herself back into a standing position. "That I took you down with a muggle weapon."

Lucius' expression was one of pure shock. Ginny took advantage of this to recuperate Draco's wand. Lucius' wand was nowhere in sight.

"Where did you learn to do that?" asked Draco's weak voice from behind her. Ginny turned and threw her arms around him.

"I thought I would lose you," she whispered, tears running down her cheeks, not sure she would be ever ready to let go of him. Draco wrapped his arms around her, too, holding her tightly against his body.

"I'm sorry I let him hurt you," Draco whispered back.

* * *

After a few heavenly minutes holding Ginny in his arms, Draco slowly let go of her and stood above his father. He was still conscious although he was losing a lot of blood and his breathing was forced.

Recalling his previous rage, Draco pointed his wand at his father's heart. His hand was shaking, his mind racing, his whole body pushing him to spell the words that would take his father's life: Avada Kedavra. He would finally get revenge for his mother, for all the people his father had hurt, for Ginny and for himself.

"No," whispered Ginny and she placed a calming hand over his shaky one. "You don't have to do this …if you kill him you will become exactly the person he wanted you to be: a cold-blooded killer."

Draco took a deep breath. He knew Ginny was right, he knew his job only called for him to bring Lucius to Azkaban, but a dark, sickly spot inside of him still pushed him to cast the course and end his father's life.

"Look at me," said Ginny as she gently turned Draco's face towards her. "Please don't do this."

The dark, sickly spot started to fade and Draco started to forget his need for brutal revenge. Instead of a deadly course, Draco muttered a spell that tied his father's body in ropes.

"Weak," Lucius whispered weakly and with the little strength he had he mustered a mocking laugh.

Ginny turned to address Lucius.

"Draco is more of a man than you have ever been, you sick son of a…"

"Avada Kedavra"

Having reached for his wand moments ago, Lucius had pointed it at Ginny as he whispered his last words. A ray of green light grazed Ginny's fingers as she tried to move away from the mortal course. She fell to the floor, immobile, no heartbeat.

* * *

_**Ta-da! We only have approximately 3 chapters left! So keep reading and please review! **_


	21. Chapter 21, part 1

**Chapter 21, part 1**

Ginny had never given much thought to the afterlife but if this was it, then she was extremely underwhelmed. She felt like a floating head, groggily wandering around a foggy, open space, trying to reach the sources of voices that held a conversation not too far away.

"...recover slowly."

"But she's alright?"

"She will be..."

"...this happen?"

"...saw Malfoy...father...St. Mungos immediately."

Ginny considered perhaps she was a ghost. Perhaps every new ghost felt this lost; surely it must take some time to get used to sliding through the air and experiencing the world through eyes made of a smoke-like substance. She felt disappointed: she didn't want to be a ghost, she didn't want to sit in the sidelines and watch her loved ones live...and die. But most of all, she didn't think she could take being close to Draco and not being able to hold him close.

Ginny's thoughts were interrupted by pain: numbed and manageable at first, but it rapidly turned into excruciating pain all over her body. She felt herself wince and groan. The pain was bad, but at least it announced that she was alive; everyone knows dead people don't feel pain.

"...she moving?"

"...in pain!"

"I will apply a stronger sleeping spell...needs rest."

"...not feel a thing."

Was that Hermione's voice?

Before Ginny could confirm her suspicions, a warmth spread through her body and she resumed her numbness to the world.

* * *

The next time Ginny regained consciousness the pain was considerably less extreme and she was slightly more lucid. She tried to open her eyes but her eyelids felt too heavy to move. Speaking was an equally impossible task.

The room remained silent for the next few minutes until Ginny heard steps approaching and the door to her room open.

"You need to make this as quick as possible, Ron will be back soon."

Ginny recognized Hermione's voice.

"Is she awake?"

And Draco's.

"I don't think so, we've kept her under heavy sleeping spells so she could withstand the pain."

"Alright, I'll be out soon."

The door closed with a thud and Ginny heard Draco's steps approach her bed. She wanted more than anything to jump up from her bed, circle Draco's neck with her arms and press her lips against his, but any effort to move was futile.

The thin hospital mattress gave way to Draco's weight as he sat next to her. Ginny yearned for his hand to touch hers but Draco kept his limbs to himself. Even with her eyes closed to the world and the feeling of grogginess that tainted her perception, Ginny could feel the tension emanating from Draco's whole being.

"Gin I..." Draco started speaking but stopped for a few seconds. He gave a nervous laugh and continued, "This is harder than I thought it would be..." he said, more to himself than to Ginny, but she listened attentively to every word.

"I'm so sorry," Draco finally blurted out. "It's entirely my fault you got hurt and now you are here...lying in this bed, unconscious...and you look so fragile..."

Ginny felt Draco pull up the bed sheets to better cover her body.

"I'm sorry I put you in danger...I knew my father was following me, I should have stayed away from the one person I...the one person I care about...instead I ran straight to you...my selfish actions put you in harm's way and I will never forgive myself for that..."

Draco cleared his throat. Even though she could not see him, Ginny knew he looked distressed: eyes staring at the floor, shoulders on his knees, hands supporting his blonde head. She would would have given anything to reach out to him, tell him it was not his fault, tell him he needed to stop blaming himself for everything that happened to the people he loved.

"I've decided it's time I finally pay my dues to the wizarding world, just like every Death Eater has been forced to do...I should have never gotten out of my Azkaban sentence, I should have paid for all the pain that I caused instead of hiding behind the Ministry's favors...I've been letting the guilt for what I did during the war taint everything in my life and it's time I deal with that guilt...so I've come to tell you goodbye, Gin."

If she could feel anything below the neck, Ginny was sure she would have felt her heart sink.

"I'm turning myself in to Azkaban and I am breaking my deal with the Ministry...I want you to know you changed everything for me, you made me realize that I wanted to be better...please don't try to wait for me, you know as much as I do that I am no good for you."

For a brief second, the back of Draco's hand caressed Ginny's cheek, and then he was gone...perhaps forever.

* * *

_**I know this is incredibly short, but I wanted to get the first part of the chapter out because I know I left you guys with an awful cliffhanger and I thought it would be better to have a small chapter now than a longer one in two weeks when I will be updating again. So here it is, what do you think? We are only two chapters away from the end!**_


	22. Chapter 21 part 2

**Chapter Twenty-One, part Two**

"I'm turning myself in..."

It must have been a nightmare, a cruel joke Ginny's imagination had played on her while heavily sedated. She refused to believe Draco had turned himself in, allowing for the Ministry to throw him in Azkaban if they so pleased. She refused to believe she had cheated death only to have to live the rest of her life without Draco.

"Ginny? Are you awake?"

Suddenly, Ginny realized she had finally been able to open her eyes and had been looking at the white ceiling of a hospital room for the past few minutes.

"Ginny?"

A soft hand covered hers. For the first time in what seemed like ages to Ginny, she could finally feel something other than pain below her neck. She turned to find Hermione's kind smile and bright eyes staring back at her. Ginny attempted to formulate words but her throat was too dry for her to utter anything but a soft groan.

"I will get you some water," said Hermione.

As she poured water into a glass that stood on the bedside table, Hermione spoke again:

"I'm sure you have millions of questions, but I advise you to speak as little as possible right now, seeing as your body is still recovering."

Hermione handed Ginny the glass and she hurried to gulp the water down, feeling the refreshing liquid slowly heal the ache in her throat.

"Let me put you up to date with what happened to you, since I'm sure you are wondering how you ended up here."

Ginny nodded, thankful that Hermione knew her so well.

"You've been sedated for three weeks today, we have kept you this way because you received severe injuries and we needed your body to be in full rest for you to recover...also, I don't believe anyone could have survived the amount of pain you would have experienced had you been conscious all this time."

Hermione took hold of Ginny's hand again, and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Gin...Draco brought you to St. Mungos that night, he apparated with you and said his father had...that he had used the Avada Kedavra curse on you," Hermione whispered the last words and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "We were sure you...we thought you were dead."

"Me too," replied Ginny with a whisper.

"But you weren't...obviously," said Hermione, wiping a tear from her cheek. "It was a combination of luck and Draco's fast thinking. You see, Lucius was so weak when he cast the curse that it diminished the curse's power, he also missed his target for the most part: the curse only slightly touched your fingertips...and then Draco did something no one had ever tried before: he purposely spliced your hand when apparating you both so that the part of you that had first been hit with the course was left behind...he reacted so quickly that the curse barely had time to spread through your arm and shoulder but it never reached your heart, that's how we were able to bring you back to life."

Ginny felt like crying and laughing at the same time. Draco had saved her life, so where was he now?

"Unfortunately your left arm did die. It slowly withered and fell off, that's why we had to keep you sedated. Then we used experimental reconstructive spells to grow your arm and hand back, so far they've worked wonders! As you can see."

Ginny looked down at her arm. The pale skin, the small freckles, even her short-trimmed fingernails looked exactly the same as they had before.

"You should tell George about this reconstructive spells, he could have his ear back in no time," said Ginny, smiling. Her voice was still coarse but her throat was not hurting as much as before.

Hermione let out a small, relieved laugh.

"I already have," she said. "So, any questions?"

Ginny could only think of one: "Where is Draco?"

"I meant questions about your health."

"Nope. Died, came back to life, hand was chopped off, arm fell off, pain, got new arm. Everything's well that ends well. Where is Draco?"

"He is in Azkaban...Gin, please try not to get agitated."

So it hadn't been a nightmare. The bloody idiot had turned himself in. Ginny felt a heavy pressure on her chest and a lack of oxygen in the air. She shut her eyes tightly, trying hard not shed any tears for that bloody, inconsiderate asshole.

"Ginny?"

"I'm fine..." she managed to whisper.

"No you are not," Hermione said, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest: she was on a mission to make Ginny talk about her feelings. When Ginny didn't speak, Hermione continued: "He came to see you a couple of days ago, to say goodbye."

"I know."

Hermione seemed surprised.

"How?"

"I was semi-awake...no I wish I hadn't been."

"Gin, you know how skeptical I am about anything related to Malfoy but...he seems to legitimately care about you...I don't know how you did it but he's changed and I think the fact that he turned himself in proves that."

A single tear escaped Ginny. She refused to look at Hermione in the eye, afraid that she would start sobbing uncontrollably.

"How?! If he really cared about me he would have stayed! He wouldn't be spending the rest of his life in Azkaban."

Hermione once again placed a gentle hand over Ginny's.

"Sweetheart I don't know what Malfoy's future holds, but I do know that the Malfoy we used to know, the Malfoy before you came along, would have never faced the consequences of his actions...I think that's what he is doing now: finally taking responsibility for what he did during the war."

"Well, he picked a bloody terrible time to become a nice guy."

"You haven't lost him yet, Gin...there's still the trial."

"What?"

"He hasn't been convicted yet, he was taken to Azkaban last night to await his trial."

Ginny almost jumped from the bed.

"You should have started with that!"

"I thought you knew...nobody is sent to Azkaban without a proper trial."

If only you knew... Ginny thought, remembering Draco's story about his and his mother's arrest. But correcting Hermione and shattering her illusion of a perfect magical justice system was not a priority at the moment. Ginny planted both her feet on the ground and began looking for her non-hospital clothes.

"What are you doing?! You can't be walking around..."

"When's the trial?"

"Tonight but..."

"Please let my family know I'm all better now and I went home."

Ginny grabbed her wand from the bedside table and whispered Accio clothes. Meanwhile, Hermione kept trying to lure her back into the hospital bed and talking about how she couldn't let her go.

"'Mione!" Ginny finally stopped, after having dressed herself, and gave Hermione one of her determinate looks. "I know you are just looking out for me but if you really want me to be okay you need to let me go to that trial tonight because as mad as I am at Draco right now I cannot let a bunch of fools throw him in Azkaban for the rest of his life."

Hermione sighed and dropped her arms to her sides.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, I'll bribe the judge if I have to..."

Hermione gasped.

"Fine, I won't...I'll think of something."

"Alright," said Hermione. "But if you feel any discomfort, or pain, or dizziness you promise to come back to the hospital?"

"I promise to come back to make my full recovery as soon as I get that idiot out of the mess he's made."

Hermione giggled slightly.

"Go," she said.

Ginny did not hesitate to do so.

* * *

**Ta-da! Finally, here is part 2. Hope you enjoyed it. Only two more chapters to go...at least that's the plan hehe. Thanks for reading and please review!**


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